School DescriptionPaul Cuffee School Charter School, Rhode Island
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Introduction:
The Paul Cuffee School is a Charter School located in the Providence School District. The research below discusses many aspects that are unique to the Paul Cuffee School. Paul Cuffee is a relatively new school, with a emphasis on family involvement, extra curricular activities, and student services. Overall the school is successful in providing extra assistance for it's students and families. However, as a charter school it fails to provide these opportunities to all students in the Providence school district. This report aims to inform parents of the Providence School District about the quality of education their child would receive if they are selected to attend the Paul Cuffee School. It also aims to compare this charter school's performance to public schools in the state. This context report aims to demonstrate the successes and weaknesses of the Paul Cuffee School.
Mission and History
The Paul Cuffee School, located in Providence Rhode Island opened its doors in September 2001. The mission statement is as follows: to create a school that would meet the individual needs of Providence's diverse students through a maritime themed curriculum that promotes social and civic skill-building as well as outstanding academic learning. This statement reveals that the goal of the Paul Cuffee School is to provide a diverse group of students with the skills they need to success in their community both socially and intellectually. The "social and civic skill building" referenced in the mission statement, suggests that the Paul Cuffee School hopes to produce students who can relate to others, while having a positive influence in their community. The mission statement also states that it wishes to promote "outstanding academic learning," which suggests that this Charter School wishes to focus on providing a high quality education for it's students. The Paul Cuffee School initially began with four grades (K-3). Fourth and fifth grade students started in 2002 and 2003 as the younger students advanced and new students at the joined the younger grade levels. By the 205-For the 2005-2006 scholastic year, there were students enrolled in grades K-7. In November of 2005, a middle school was opened just two block aways, enabling students 6-8 to attend. The Paul Cuffee School is relatively new, which indicates that it has modern classrooms and equipment. It's inclusion of a range of grade levels provides students with a consistent type of schooling (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”).
A Diverse Student Population: Rhode Island’s capital city, Providence, contains 47 public schools which serve over 30,000 students. Of the three hundred thousand students, about 600 are educated through the Paul Cuffee School. The Paul Cuffee elementary school has a higher percentage of females than males. Of these students, 56% identify as Hispanic or Latino, 32% identify as White and 38% identify as Black or African American. (Great Schools, "Paul Cuffee School- greatschools.org") This suggests that the Paul Cuffee School is relatively diverse. Many different racial backgrounds are represented in the student body.
Organization and Acceptance
The Paul Cuffee School system is very well organized. The school is governed by a Board of Trustees. The 24 members of this board are appointed by the Sailing Institute. The Sailing Institute is the name of the private ownership of the Paul Cuffee School. The Board of Trustees is made up of teachers, parents, and different community members and agencies. Meetings are held once a month. In the past year there as been a Strategic Planning Committee added and an Education committee. Students in the Paul Cuffee school are admitted through a lottery system. The class sizes are relatively small. Teachers will have no more than 17 students in their classroom. A smaller class size is an asset for any school. Charter schools such as Paul Cuffee, are able to have small classes because they are not teaching an entire district. This gives children a more personal education. Teacher's assistants are available, and focus on individualized instruction. The admission through the lottery system prohibits all students in the district from receiving this type of education. Furthermore, the Paul Cuffee School is permitted to skim it's students. This means that if a student does not meet the schools standards, the Paul Cuffee School can return that student to public school (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”).
Active Family Involvement
The Paul Cuffee School aims to keep families very involved in their child's education. This is a benefit, considering that a families active contribution to school can contribute to a child's success.Family support and involvement will help children feel connected to the school. The Paul Cuffee School has two part-time Family Coordinators to aid in family engagement. One of the two Family Coordinators is bilingual, which is helpful given the large hispanic population that attends this school. This individual works with the family outreach and has organized events such a clothing drives, translation equipment, and school dinners. This aids in a sense of community for the Paul Cuffee School. In addition, there is a classroom space for the Family Center, that has hours in which parents can drop in. This allows parents to be aware of what is happening in the school, and allows them to support students at home. In this space the social worker and the Wellness Director discusses important topics. Parents of students with special needs can be involved in the Parent Coordinators group which meets three times a year. The Paul Cuffee School has an active PTA/PTO group that organized various activities. The Paul Cuffee School makes it very accessible for parents to be involved in their child's education. (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”).
Opportunities for Academic Support
The Paul Cuffee School offers a variety of ways to support students with academic needs. Paul Cuffee's special education services, utilize inclusion to allow special educators to support students without special needs and provide additional assistance to those with special needs during a resource period. Special Education services are made possible by a special educator, speech therapist, along with an occupational therapist. To qualify for these services, students must be diagnosed with a specific disability by the school's multidisciplinary Special Education Team. The Paul Cuffee School is unique in providing Special Education opportunities. Since special education students are less likely to score high on state tests, they are less likely to contribute to a charter schools high test performance. For this reason, many charter schools do not cater to students with special needs. Paul Cuffee's special education program is a rarity in most charter schools. The Paul Cuffee School also supports students academic growth with after-school tutoring sessions. These sessions are available four times a week and include computer lab time is necessary. Saturday School, and English Language Learn supports are also available. All students who attend the Paul Cuffee School have a study period. These study periods allow students to focus on one particular subject. Summer support is not as prevalent but is available if a child needs. Paul Cuffee's academic support will permit students a suitable environment to study outside of the classroom. (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”).
Quality Health Services
In school, good health is necessary for attendance Proper attendance leads to more classroom time and therefore more undisrupted learning. The Paul Cuffee School is staffed with two registered nurses. They are able to do regular health screenings and also teach the health curriculum to students. The school nurse is able to house and dispense student prescriptions, given a parent note is provided. School nurses perform state mandated screenings for hearing, vision, dental health, and scholiosis. Flu clinics are also provided each fall for students, staff and parents (Paul Cuffee School, "Health Services and Education- paulcuffee.org."). Regular health screenings are extremely beneficial because it allows students to be healthy and capable of participating in school
Inadequate Extracurriculars
A downfall in the Paul Cuffee school, is that many extra curricular activities are funded by personal income. If a child wishes to participate in an after school activity, the funding must come out of their parents pocket. Furthermore, there are not always enough spaces for all children to participate. Paul Cuffee School's After School Club is available for students in years K-8. The program runs after school and offers with a range of fun yet educational activities. To be apart of this club, there is a fee based on family income. Another program available is the enrichment program for children years K-8. This program focuses on activities such as sailing, book club, chess club, basketball and soccer. However, there is more interest than spots available so a lottery system is utilized to determine who can participate. Middle School sports are fee based as well. However, middle school clubs meet during the school day on fridays for no fee. There is no fee for sports at the High School level. There are no clubs offered but there are electives that can be taken during the day. (Paul Cuffee School, "School Sport, Clubs, and Activities- paulcuffee.org) The fee for younger students to participate in extra curriculars, may discourage many children from joining. Extra curriculars are necessary for young students to develop a sense of identity, and how to work with others. The lack of after school clubs offered in High School and Middle School, may cause these students to engage in risky behavior, since they will not be kept busy after school. Also only offering electives limits the amount of areas of interest a child can explore. Paul Cuffee's extra curriculars do not provide enough support for its students
Safety Concerns
The Paul Cuffee School has higher rates of bullying compared to the rest of Rhode Island. According to an infoworks survey 53.2% of students at the elementary level experience bully, where 42% of students in the rest of rhode island . However, 70% of students in the Paul Cuffee School stated that the bullying stopped with parent or teacher intervention. Only 60% of students in Rhode Island said that bullying stopped after intervention. In the Paul Cuffee school 0% of 4-5th grade students have been offered drugs in school, while 1% have state wide. Seventy percent of parents said that they feel that the Paul Cuffee School is a safe environment for their children, while 60% percent of Rhode Island parents do not strongly agree that their schools are safe (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”). The Paul Cuffee School is relatively safe for it's students. A safe school enviroment is necessary for academic success. Student's will not be able to focus on their coursework if they are constantly experiencing fear. However, the high rates of bullying that are reported suggest that their maybe distraction in the classroom.
Teacher Quality
A survey of fourth and fifth grade students indicate, that the students have a high opinion on their teachers in comparison to student opinions in the rest of the state. Students in the Paul Cuffee School feel that they have a sufficient amount class time to do work (60%). While only 54% feel this way in the rest of Rhode Island. Sixty eight percent of students stated that they feel their teachers give clear directions, 57.7% of students feel that peers are given a fair chance in class, and 60% say that they're teachers make students want to learn. In comparison to the rest of Rhode Island these percentages are equivalent (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”). This suggests this charter school teachers are not anymore successful than the rest of Rhode Island teachers. Many government officials are concerned about the quality of public education. However, replacing public schools with charter schools, are not making children anymore eager to learn.
Conclusion
The Paul Cuffee School has weaknesses and strengths in it's structure. The Paul Cuffee School has met the the No Child Left Behind standards as of 2011. It provides many services to it's students such as academic support, family involvement, and health services. However, in regards to performance, the Paul Cuffee School is not much different than other Rhode Island Schools. This is important to consider when examining our public school system. Many government officials argue that charter schools are better because they promote more individualized instruction. Despite this aspect, the Paul Cuffee School is no more successful than any other school in Rhode Island, in fact their test scores are same or lower. Extenuating influences such a poverty or quality of community, not class sizes, are what truly cause the achievement gap. Furthermore, the Paul Cuffee School does not offer many extra curriculars and has a high rate of student bullying. Both these aspects can hinder a child's performance. Unlike many charter schools, the Paul Cuffee school does make the effort to serve students from different backgrounds and those with special needs. This school is unique in it's approach to serve a diverse student population. However, it is no more successful than any other school in the state.
Introduction: Kingston Hill Academy (KHA) is a public charter school located in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. Being a public charter school means that there is no additional tuition to attend the institution. In 2001, the school opened with 40 Kindergarten students and today, the school has grown to about 180 students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. KHA is chartered for up to 260 students, Kindergarten through Eighth grade and is exploring the opportunity of expanding to accommodate middle school students. KHA is almost even when it comes to a boy-girl ratio of 41.5:56.1 (2.4% chose not to disclose information). In Rhode Island, the ethnicity rates are:81.4% white, 5.7% black, 0.1Native American/ Pacific Islander, and 3.3% more than one race. KHA reflects these numbers by its own ethnicity rates: 94.7% white , 2.6% black, 2.6% Native American/Pacific Islander, and 5.3% more than one race.
In order to be enrolled in KHA, students must win the "lottery system", as mandated by Rhode Island state law. A public lottery, held in accordance with RIDE (Board of Regents of the Rhode Island Department of Education) guidelines, is conducted each spring to fill all positions available. Families who are then selected in the lottery will be contacted and asked about their interest. If interested, they will be asked to complete the enrollment forms.
KHA is operated under a charter granted by RIDE and follows RIDE regulations, assessment and teaching standards and all other requirements mandated for traditional public schools in Rhode Island. Teachers and teacher assistants are certified by the State of Rhode Island and meet highly qualified status under No Child Left Behind. KHA has a 185-day school year; and the daily hours are 8:40 AM to 3:10 PM. Meals, including breakfast and lunch, are available to students and transportation is provided by the sending school district and there is no charge to the family if the family lives within the KHA bussing region.
Mission: "Kingston Hill Academy (KHA) is dedicated to providing students with the opportunity for an inclusive, individualized, and challenging curriculum that supports them to reach their full potential"
Typical Day (directly from the KHU Website): • At the start of each day, morning greetings are delivered by fifth grade students. Following announcements, the students participate in relaxation exercises then many classes hold morning meetings to discuss the agenda for the day. • Classes are team-taught (teacher and teacher assistant) • Hands-on science kits are integrated in daily curricula • Multi-sensory learning techniques through art integration • Cross grade-level cooperative learning experiences, such as chorus, drama, karate, etc. • Physical education/health classes (full time nurse) • Spanish Integration • Offers a full time kindergarten. • After School Enrichment programs provide activities such as sports, drama, garden art, etc. • At other times, students are grouped by interest levels. For example, each Friday, students get together for ELPs (Exploratory Learning Programs). Students get to rank their top choices for a six-week class taught by a teacher or consultant. Classes have included specialized sciences, creative writing, music, gardening, mural painting, digital technology, furniture refurbishment, puppetry, tumbling, and many others. • Technology is currently being upgraded with new computers and Smart Boards in the classrooms. School wide behavior plan. Behavior Plan
Family Support: Support at home is vital in a student's success. Encouragement from parents gives a child motivation that helps him/her succeed. At the Kingston Hill Academy, parents seem to be very supportive. Students responded that their parents are eager to know what their child is doing in school (92.3% at Kingston Hill Academy, and 94.8% statewide). In addition, 100% of Kingston Hill students and 99.5% of Rhode Island students said that their parents want them to get good grades. Parents not only focus on school presently, but the future of their children. 85% of Kingston Hill Academy parents talk to their child about jobs they may want in the future, 86.5% of Rhode Island parents do as well. 87.5% of Kingston Hill parents and 86.5% of Rhode Island parents talk to their children about going to college. Parents not only show their support, but also get involved in the Board of Trustees.
Board of Trustees: Kingston Hill Academy has a board of trustees that meets throughout the school year to facilitate the planning and development of the school. The Board of Trustees consists of parents, members from the sponsor organization (Groden Center), special and general education professionals, community partners, university faculty, and parents of general and special education students.
Funding: Kingston Hill Academy is very well funded. This allows for proper facilities and materials for students. Students report that they have adequate desks, enough books for everyone, and an attractive school. KHA give students a place to be proud to attend and learn in. Relatedly, attendance rates for KHA is slightly above the statewide percentage; students are attending school 96% in comparison to 95% statewide. More drastically, chronic absenteeism is much lower for KHA than it is statewide (KHA is only 3% while statewide, it is 17%).
Funding and Resources
Year
This District
District Property Value per Student
FY2009
$1,010,258.47
District Tax Rate per $1000.00
FY2009
$13.97
District Per Pupil Expenditure
FY2009
$13,700
District Property Tax Capacity
FY2009
$157
District Tax Effort
FY2009
$77
District Median Family Income
FY2009
$69,559
Attendance
Year
This School
Statewide
Attendance Rate (Elementary Schools)
2011-12
96%
95%
Chronic Absenteeism
2011-12
3%
17%
Assessments:
KHA has two assessments for students: Lexia and Symphony Mathis. Lexia is a technology-based system that is a component of the reading curriculum. It provides structured practice on essential reading skills such as phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. It's a program to advance foundational reading development for students of all abilities, pre-K through grade 4, and accelerate reading development for at-risk students in grades 4–12. Symphony Mathis is a web-enabled program that helps students understand at a conceptual level. Students move at their own pace and learn how math works. For more information: Lexia and Symphony Math
In addition to the Lexia and the Symphony MAthia, The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) is administered to all third, fourth and fifth grade students each fall. This test is an assessment of student aptitude in the areas of Language Arts (Reading and Writing) and Mathematics. A science NECAP is administered to fourth graders each spring. As shown in the table below, KHA is well above the proficiency rates in every grade and subject according to the state proficiency.
NECAP Assessments
Year
% Proficient School
% Proficient State
3rd Grade Math
2012-13
78%
60%
3rd Grade Reading
2012-13
88%
70%
4th Grade Math
2012-13
86%
65%
4th Grade Reading
2012-13
88%
69%
4th Grade Science
2011-12
76%
45%
5th Grade Math
2012-13
95%
62%
5th Grade Reading
2012-13
100%
72%
5th Grade Writing
2012-13
90%
59%
Conclusion: Kingston Hill Academy is an excellent school for students. It is well above the academic achievement levels of the state. KHA has highly qualified and caring teachers, a nurturing community, and sufficient funding. Based on surveys, students seem to enjoy attending Kingston Hill Academy. Overall, Kingston Hill is a great school that plans on expanding in the future. Citations:Rhode Island Department of Education. “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Infoworks Live. 2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.
"WELCOME TO KINGSTON HILL ACADEMY." WELCOME TO KINGSTON HILL ACADEMY. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.kingstonhill.org/>.
Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 1 291 Broad St Cumberland, RI (401) 335-3133
Introduction Located in Cumberland Rhode Island, lies Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary School 1. Catering to scholars from the surrounding areas of Central Falls, Lincoln and Pawtucket; BVP serves students in Kindergarten through Fifth grade. They argue that students are so much more then just students; they are scholars. At BVP, educators try to prepare students for success later in life as well as in their higher education career.
Test Scores One of the main goals of charter schools like BVP is to have their students achieve a certain level of success on standardized testing. When students preform amicably on these tests, it shows the community that the school is successful in preparing students for higher education. BVP is no exception, during the 2012-2013 school year both the third grade math and reading scores were much improved over that of the state. In math, over eighty percent of BVP students achieved or succeeded the target score. The same percentage was met with the reading section of the NECAP. These scores are much different than that of the state which was sixty percent in math and seventy in reading respectively. The reasons for these impressive scores include the teachers and the dedication of students. At BVP, all of the teachers are certified in elementary education. Students show their dedication through their impeccable attendance rate of ninety eight percent.
Teacher's Role Teachers play an important role in starting the preparation of young students for higher education. At BVP, teachers range in experience from less than a year to more than twenty years. This provides new teachers with a mentor who can show them some of the tricks of the trade while newer teachers can provide innovative and new teaching strategies. In the state of Rhode Island, most teachers provide students with the ability to revise assignments. This can cause the child to not work as hard the first time around. It is for this reason that unlike the forty five percent of Rhode Island teachers who allow this, just under ten percent of BVP teachers give their students this option. Teachers at BVP view different things as the "most important" than the state, this can be seen in the way they weigh grades. At BVP, end of the year exams account for double what they do in the state. In Rhode Island they are weighted at about forty percent. At BVP, they are almost eighty percent. On the opposite end, Rhode Island schools put more emphasis on classwork, accounting for almost eighty eight percent. At BVP, classwork accounts for only seventy percent. The homework assigned is also different. At BVP, they will assign more work out of class, making homework take a little longer than that of other schools in Rhode Island. It is all a balancing act, the more homework, the less emphasis on classwork and vice versa. Thus, the role of the teacher and the way in which they choose to lead their classroom will have different effects on students.
Parents Role A parent's role in a young child's schooling can have a great impact on their lives later on. At BVP, parents are very involved in activities for the school. Whether it be parent teacher conferences or after school program events, the presence of parents is easily seen. While parent's participation can be seen throughout the state, it is more popular at BVP. Unlike the rest of Rhode Island, the parent's relationship with BVP is overwhelmingly, with eighty two percent, viewed as an important partnership. In Rhode Island, only forty two percent of people strongly agree with this fact. If a parent ever needed to get in contact with the school or vice versa, it is important to have a good relationship between the two. Without this, it would be difficult to ever meet the student's needs.
Introduction Students that live in the West Greenwich area have multiple high schools that they have the opportunity to attend. Students are blessed with the opportunity to go to either Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School, the public high school that also attends to students from Exeter, or go to the Greene School, an independent charter high school. The Greene School is centered around developing personal, community and global stewardship using a curriculum that is based on environmental science and technology that affects the natural world. Within this school students learn to develop and integrate their strengths in local and global communities, becoming an important role in both. This school has an emphasis on promoting ethic excellence, and character development for moral and social responsibilities. Students are prepared to be informed, skilled, active and innovative community leaders who will become the “environmental stewards of the future.” Students will understand and apply the concept of stewardship as the careful and responsible management all: human, physical, biological and financial resources (Mission). Students Even with only 127 students, the Greene School still is able to make a name for itself because of the students overall proficiency. After taking the NECAP assessment, in 2012, 11th graders scored 90% proficient in reading, which is outstanding to the rest of the state at only 79%. These students blew out the rest of the other state with their science scores being 49% compared to 32%. The students are above average in writing, scoring 54%. Even in the Greene School's weakest subject, math, the students scored higher then the rest of the state with 38% compared to 34% (InfoWorks). These students are excelling over the rest of the state. The success of these students can be correlated to the small size and wealth of the area. Only 17% of the students are eligible for subsided lunch which is shocking compared to the state's rate which is 46% (InfoWorks). All students are given special attention with the outstanding 1:11 teachers to students ratio (InfoWorks). There are also 23% of students are receiving special educational services. The small size of the school gives teachers a student body that has 94% attendance rate (InfoWorks). When students come to school and have extra attention from the teachers, test scores skyrocket.
"Mission Vision." The Greene School. The Greene School, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
"InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov." InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. InfoWorks, 8th June 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
SchoolSpring: South Kingstown Public Schools - Matunuck Elementary School. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.schoolspring.com/joblocation.cfm?lid=2575&jid=448242
Introduction
Matunuck Elementary School is nestled far off in the crook of trees and sprawling fields of South Kingstown RI. It is minutes away from Rhode Island's southern shore and its coastal community remains a prominent cornerstone in its school culture. Situated between Carpenter's Farm, Clark Farms and other locally run farm land the students are exposed to a rural and peaceful landscape.
Who Goes to Matunuck Elementary School?
There is little racial diversity at Matunuck Elementary School. 95% of the students there are considered white, 3% are multiracial, and only 2% identify with hispanic and Asian heritage. These demographics reflect those found in the South Kingstown community, accept for the Native American population there (Rhode Island Department of Education). This could be an indicator of higher income families living in the Matunuck school district. The waterfront properties surrounding the school would also suggest advantaged families capable of paying hight taxes for their valuable properties. It is notable that, South County's concentration of low income housing is based in Peace Dale, serviced by a separate elementary school than Matunuck El. (South Kingstown Geographic Information System (Division of the Planning Department)). .
How Effective in Terms of Standardized Testing is Matunuck El.?
Matunuck Elementary faired well in NECAP grades for 2012-13, deeming them a qualified school in the eyes of the state.The 3rd graders were considered 28% more proficient than the State average in their Math NECAP score and 18% more proficient in reading. The 4th graders also performed higher than the stage average on their NECAP assessment. For math they were 29% more proficient than the state, reading they were 17% more proficient and in science they were an astonishing 25% more proficient (Rhode Island Department of Education). Above all of this the principle of Matunuck Elementary, Debra Zepp was awarded principle of the year by the R.I. Association of School Principles in 2011
(“R.I. Association of School Principals | PowerIT”). It is clear that, under the leadership of Principle Zepp, students are thriving in the academic atmosphere at Matunuck Elementary School. .
Graphic taken from RI Info Works
Are teachers at Matunuck El. qualified in terms of data?
The teaching staff at Matunuck Elementary is considered "highly qualified" by RI InfoWorks. This means they are state certified, skilled and practiced in their teaching focus, and hold a bachelors degree. Non of the teachers there hold emergency certification, meaning they are all state certified and were not given special permission to teach before getting their certification. The teacher to student ratio is 1:11.
(Rhode Island Department of Education).
Where does Matunuck El. receive funding?
Matunuck Elementary has an active PTO and is able to fund various improvements to the school. It's biggest fundraiser of the year,a Jog-A-Thon was reported to have grossed 6,500 dollars from various parents and donors. The PTO's Financial Report for 2013 mentions using their funds to buy classroom gathering rugs, projectors, a computer reading enrichment program, and a new sound system (“Matunuck Elementary Home Page”). Besides the PTO, Matunuck Elementary has a district expenditure of $16,082 per student, as of 2009
(Rhode Island Department of Education). The PTO's strong participation is a strong indicator of parental quality in the Matunuck El. community as well as the advantaged socioeconomic status of these parents.
Works Cited “Matunuck Elementary Home Page.” N. p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
Rhode Island Department of Education. “Matunuck Elementary.” N. p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
“R.I. Association of School Principals | PowerIT.” N. p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
South Kingstown Geographic Information System (Division of the Planning Department). “Planning: Affordable Housing Production Plan | Town of South Kingstown.” N. p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
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Introduction The Compass school opened in 2002 by a group of parents who wanted their kids to learn in a different way and use their brains. It is a K-8 school located in South Kingstown and has a total of 153 students. The curriculum at the Compass school focuses heavily on projects to integrate learning. By doing this, they feel, that the students learn the relevance of the information they learn and are able to take responsibility for and learn to present their work. The Compass School is based upon six key concepts and programs which include: parental involvement, environmental sustainability, site-based management, multistage approach, project-based teaching approach and social responsibility. The application process is based on a lottery system for all students that submit an application. If they are not picked initially, they are put on the waiting list and entered into the next lottery. In this report I will look at the demographics of the school, the effectiveness, specifically looking at standardized test scores, the teacher quality, and the school funding compared to statewide averages.
Demographics The Compass school does not have much, if any diversity. The majority of students (96%) are white, and the remaining 4% is distributed between African American (1%), Native American (1%), and Hispanic (2%). When comparing this to the demographics to South Kingstown as a whole, it is not much different. In South Kingstown, 90.8% of people are white and the other 9.2% is split between Hispanic, American Indian, Asian, and Black.
Effectiveness When comparing NECAP test scores of the Compass school to the statewide proficiency, the Compass school is significantly at a higher proficiency percentage in each grade and subject. At the Compass school, 4 percentages are 100% proficiency. These are 3rd grade math, 5th grade math, 5th grade reading, and 7th grade reading. The lowest proficiencies at the Compass school are 63% in 5th grade reading and 67% in 8th grade science. At the statewide level, the percentages are much lower, the lowest being 27% in 8th grade science and the highest being 77% in 8th grade reading.
Teacher Quality The teachers at the Compass school have a higher percentage of teachers that are not highly qualified. The percentage from 2010-2011 for not highly qualified teachers is 7% at the Compass School as compared to 3% as the statewide percentage. Although this school has a relatively high number of not qualified teachers, this does now mean the school has bad teachers. Highly qualified means the teacher has a degree in the area they are teaching, therefore at this school, the high percentage could be because the teachers do not have degrees in their subject or in education. The teacher-student ratio is equivalent to the statewide average of 1:11.
School Funding The Compass school receives its funding from public tax dollars and Federal and State grants. The district per pupil expenditure is $16,082. At the statewide level, the per pupil spending is $15,173. Therefore, the funding per pupil at the Compass school is above the state average by approximately $900.
Conclusion In conclusion, the Compass school is above the state average in testing and pride themselves on working to make their students use their brains. Their teacher quality is below state averages, but it is difficult to draw conclusions from the statistics given for teacher quality due to the criteria for a high quality teacher. Also, the funding at the Compass school is above state average. This information is important for people looking to analyze the Compass school, or for parents considering having their child attend. It outlines the school as a whole based on demographics, performance, teacher quality, and funding and compares to statewide averages in order to give the reader a better idea of the school.
Introduction No one has ever been told becoming a nurse is going to be easy. College freshmen are immediately enrolled into a demanding curriculum. The Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Charter School located in Providence, prepares 134 aspiring nurses in every aspect of the field. These students are geared to focus in the subject of science and high levels of math. Students must be aware of the possible prolonged semester and grueling hours that can also include summer classes. Because this is one of the first charter schools of its nature, it is currently receiving a lot of recognition from scholars and the community as a whole. Highly recognized nurses have visited and observed the school since its opening in 2011 in hopes that this is the start of a new form of career education. The objective of this charter school is to produce well educated and experienced nurses that will pave the way for other schools similar to this, leading to the expansion of the use of charter schools associated with nursing and career development. Because this school is still developing certain aspects such as student achievement, the faculty within the school, and the surrounding community are continuously being analysed for their effectiveness.
Student Achievement As a new school that is highly regarded, it is crucial that the students excel in all aspects of their academics. Compared to the state of Rhode Island, this nursing charter school is considered ‘leading’ according to InfoWorks. Upon evaluation, this charter school was given 74.6 points while Rhode Island as a whole scored 56.0 out of a possible 100 points. When 11th graders were measured individually in various subjects, they ranked below the average Rhode Island student. In 2012-2013 academic year, 19% of the students were classified as proficient in math, the state had 34% of its students as proficient. The 15% difference can be seen as a significant margin but does not call for concern yet, due to the charter school's recent opening in 2011. However, in one year the charter school's mathematic scores' increased from 4% to 19% whereas Rhode Island only had a 4% increase during that same year. In regards to reading, the charter school;s scores are dramatically increasing (by 21%) whereas Rhode Island is only slightly increasing (by 3%). It is evident that this nursing school is still in the developmental stages but rapidly evolving and preparing their students significantly each year for standardized testing.
Faculty The field of nursing requires an understanding of complex material as well as the ability to apply that material to clinical settings. This nursing charter school provides well qualified instructors who are highly regarded in their designated areas of nursing. They hire college level professors and certified secondary level educators. In addition, nurse practitioners are hired to teach the more rigorous curriculum and provide advice from their own past experiences. The instructors work within smaller classes demonstrating techniques and clarifying questions posed by the students. This school offers opportunities such as the option to earn college credits and take part in hands-on experience. Once these students complete the program, they are more likely to be granted acceptance into prestigious universities in hopes of furthering their nursing careers.
Families and Communities Providence is known to be the home of many families within the lower class who contribute to the poverty rate of Rhode Island. Over 80% of the students that attend the Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Charter School are eligible for subsidized lunches according to InfoWorks. The state of Rhode Island’s average eligibility for reduced lunches is 46%. This number is so high due to the large amount of students coming from the Providence area. This school does not offer bilingual aid however 6% of the Rhode Island students require this assistance. The nursing institute does, however, offer special education services to the 4% of students that call for this additional help. In order for this school to further succeed, it must accommodate to the population of Providence.
Conclusion The Rhode Island Nurses Institute is a work in progress but is clearly being met with high expectations. The school offers a wide variety of opportunities and resources for future nurses to become better acquainted with. The students' rigorous curriculum is constantly developing, therefore the students are expected to maintain high academic standings. These students are taught by the most qualified professors and continuously challenged in and outside the classroom. Although some of these students may be suffering from hardships in their family life, their academics are not as heavily affected because of the amenities provided by the school. The environment of this particular charter school is set up for the students to flourish and develop into working nurses.
Introduction:
Every child's education has to start somewhere. There are many school options for students that live in Rhode Island. Stony Lane Elementary School is a public school located in North Kingstown, RI that offers grades K-5. This is a great place for kids to begin schooling if they live in the Kingston area. It is open to all types of students that live in the area. It offers a broad education to all students in a safe environment so the kids can flourish and get the help they need to learn their basics.
Mission:(Stony Lane Mission)
"The mission of Stony Lane School is to educate the children of North Kingstown in partnership with families and community to create a safe, caring, supportive and respectful environment, where all students become responsible, life-long learners and contribute positively to our global society."
Daily Schedule:(Stony Lane Daily Schedule)
Students may be dropped off at the playground from 9:10-9:25.
School begins at 9:25 where the students do morning exercises and begin classes.
Lunch and recess is split up by grade between 12 and 2 in the afternoon.
Return to classes until school ends at 3:45.
Students:
For the 2012-2013 school year, there were 459 students at Stony Lane School. Of these, 8% are eligible for subsidized lunch. This rate is much lower than the state's, which is 46%. Less than 1% of the students at Stony Lane School are receiving ESL/bilingual education services while Rhode Island as a whole has 6%. 7% of students are receiving special education services, which is just under half the amount of Rhode Island as a whole, which has 15%. When it comes to standardized testing, (NECAP), Stony Lane School has significantly more students who score as proficient than the state. The percent of third graders at Stony Lane that read at a proficient level is 88 % while it is 70% in all of Rhode Island. Math was at 82% compared to 60% in all of Rhode Island. This trend continues throughout fourth and fifth grade where Stony Lane School's proficiency rate is much higher than that of the entire state. (InfoWorks!)
Safety and Support:
Attendance rate for elementary schools in Rhode Island is 95% while Stony Lane has 97%. Attendance is very important for students, especially at such a young age so they start off right and are getting the basic education they need. Chronic absenteeism in Rhode Island is at 17% while Stony Lane School is 1%. This is good because Stony Lane has a very low rate of chronic absences, which aren't good for a child's early education. Safety is also key when it comes to a school's success. The number of incidents that occur in Rhode Island elementary schools is 2,916 while Stony Lane School has had 0. The stability index for this school is 97% while for all elementary schools statewide it's 87%. The mobility index is only 2% at this school compared to 14% for the entire state. This is a significant difference for the 2012-2013 school year. (InfoWorks!)
School Description of B.F Norton Elementary SchoolLocated in: Cumberland, Rhode IslandBy: Ariana Grande B.F Norton Elementary School resides in the small town of Cumberland, Rhode Island. With 8,324 children enrolled in school in Cumberland, B.F Norton is just one option that serves the community. Located on Broad Street, B.F Norton sits right down the road from a neighboring charter school, Blackstone Valley Prep. The idea of this school description, is to give a thorough understanding of B.F Norton, a public elementary school, that serves the community of Cumberland, Rhode Island. Funding: In the Cumberland, Rhode Island school district, $11,090 per student is spent. This is significantly lower than the Rhode Island funding per student which is $15,173. Title 1 School: B.F Norton Elementary School is classified as a Title 1 School. A Title 1 School, is one that "
meet[s] federal rules related to teacher qualifications as defined in No Child Left Behind. These rules allow you to learn more about your child’s teacher’s training and credentials." (B.F Norton Website) As a Title 1 School, there are certain expectations of teachers that parents can expect to see fit. For example, a parent can ask about the credentials of their child's teacher, what degrees he or she possesses, and if they are emergency certified.
Student Characteristics: Students who attend B.F Norton Elementary School, are made up of a few different racial backgrounds. The two greatest percentages of backgrounds are white, with 69%, and hispanic, with 21%. The remaining students make up a multiracial student body with backgrounds such as African Americans and Asians. With 311 students in the building, 49% of them are eligible for subsidized lunch. This percentage is greater than the state percentage of 46%. With that piece of evidence, it can be inferred that half of the student body most likely lives in a household where money is tight. 18% of the students who attend B.F Norton take advantage of special education services. Along with special education services, ESL services are also offered at B.F Norton. Catering toward 9% of students who attend are ESL students. This percentage beats the state percentage by 3%. Of the 311 students who attend this elementary school, 41.9% of their parents completed college. 24.2% of their parents completed some college. In the SurveyWorks survey, given to students at B.F Norton, 86.7 checked the box that they believed that they would finish high school. of the students checked that they believed that they would go on to continue their education through college. Student Achievement: To gain a glimpse of the student's achievement or test scores, NECAP scores can be examined. More than half of third graders who attend B.F Norton, scored proficiently in math and in reading. In math, 57% of third graders scored proficiently. Compared to the state however, the percentage is a little lower. In reading, 69% of third graders scored proficiently, this percentage tied with the state's. Fourth graders scored proficiently in math reading and science. However, only 29% scored in science proficiently, while the state percentage sits at 45%. Fifth graders scored high in reading and math, and 42% scored proficiently in writing. In no area did B.F Norton score higher than the state percentage. Teachers: At B.F Norton, the student to teacher ratio is actually lower than the state's student to teacher ratio. B.F Norton sits with a 1:9 student to teacher ratio, while the state sits with a 1:11 student to teacher ratio. Of the teachers who work at B.F Norton, 5% of teachers are emergency certified. This percentage is 4% higher than the state percentage. Atmosphere of B.F Norton: Chronic absenteeism is not a huge problem at B.F Norton. Only 12% of students could be pined as being chronically absent. Most of the time, 96% of the student body attends school. The state target for attendance is 90%. B.F Norton surpasses this percentage by 5%. In terms of suspension, B.F Norton has no recorded suspensions. This is excellent. Conclusion: All in all, B.F Norton is not a bad elementary school to attend. The teachers are highly credited and certified, a plethora of resources are available, and test scores are for the most part, decent. The downfall to B.F Norton would be the location. Located on the southern side of Cumberland, housing is more crowded, populations are higher, and money is not as abundent. These facts can be backed up by statistics mentioned earlier in this report, and can be compared directly to other schools within the community.
INTRODUCTION:
Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School consists of 80 students in kindergarten and first grade. It opened in 2011 with only kindergarten, but in 2012 first graders were added. In the state of Rhode Island, only 6% receive an ESL or bilingual education but in this school 29%. The majority of the population in this school is hispanic children, mixed with white students, African American, Asian, Native American, and Multiracial. This school has a 97% attendance rate and 0% chronic absenteeism, which beats the rate throughout the state which is 17%. This school is overall extremely stable.
Year
This School
Statewide
Details
Stability Index (Elementary Schools)
2011-12
93%
87%
—
Mobility Index (Elementary Schools)
2011-12
7%
14%
—
Year
This School
Statewide
Details
Attendance Rate (Elementary Schools)
2011-12
97%
95%
view details
Chronic Absenteeism
2011-12
0%
17%
—
DAILY SCHEDULE:
At Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School, students have a very coordinated daily schedule. The goal of the school is to help children who are scholars, and will one day attend a university. Every program in the school is designed to incorporate a strong foundational diverse culture. The classes are supposed to be rigorous for students and include art and physical activity. 62.2% of parents agree that this school has an adequit art program and sports program for students. Sample Daily Schedule
TEACHERS:
Teachers at Blackstone Valley Elementary 2 School most teachers have been teaching for four to ten years. This is less that the state average, but still a high amount.There are a total of 407 full time teachers, and 28 part-time teachers. The majority of teachers have either a masters or bachelors degree, and a few have a doctorate degree in education. At Blackstone Valley, there are no librarians or volunteer teacher aids, but there are paid teacher aides, along with many other teachers as shown in the graph below. Most teachers assign their students half an hour to an hour of homework which is more than the state average of no homework to half an hour of homework. The school requires teachers to have weekly, or monthly meetings with their department to touch base on how they're doing, and talk about what's working and what's not.
Primary Role:
Classroom teacher
273
Team Leader
6
Guidance Counselor
5
Teacher's Aid (paid)
18
Teacher' Aid (volunteer)
0
Student Teacher or Intern
1
Arts Resource teacher
6
Librarian
0
ESL/ Bilingual Teacher
1
Speech Pathologist
3
Social Worker
9
Learning Coordinator
3
Reading Specialist
13
School Psychologist
1
Special Education Teacher
38
Vocational/ Technical
9
Other
48
SCORES AND RESULTS:
Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School is a highly recommended school. 98.4% of families with children that attend the school recommend it. The average grade for student performance is a B+. The grade for subgroup performance is a B, and the grade for the attempt to close this achievement gap is a C+. These grades are higher those of the Cumberland School District as a whole. Cumberland received a B for student performance, a C for subgroup performance, and a C- in closing the achievement gap for students.
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT:
The majority of parents say that they are very involved with their childrens education at Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School. 94.9% of parents said they know what their child is studying in class, and 98.3% said they feel very welcome in the school. Parents at this school attend many events that are held, as shown below. Parent to teacher communication is very common at this school, whether it's in person, over an e-mail, or a phone call. Most parents agree that it is very easy to get in contact with their children's teachers and principal. Parent Participation:
Classical High School is a public magnet school located in Providence, Rhode Island in the Providence school district. It was founded in 1843, with the motto Certare, Petere, Reperire, Neque Cedere, translated from Latin as: “To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield.” Classical High School is known as high performing since it’s a city wide school determined on finding the best students in the city. This information is aimed at those who wish to learn about various aspects of Classical High School compared to other schools in the state of Rhode Island. This school was able to make Newsweek’s America’s Best High Schools of 2012.
Student Achievement:
Classical is known as a commended school when it comes to student achievement. Their proficiency, gap closure, distinction, and graduation rate are well above that of the Providence school district, and also above the state of RI as well. They have an outstanding graduation rate of 97.5%, while the state’s is 76.9% and the district is 68.8%. For NECAP Assessments in the years 2012-2013, Classical is more proficient than Rhode Island schools as a whole by at least 11% in each subject. For Math scores, Classical High School is 62% proficient while the state is 34%. In Science scores, Classical is 43% proficient while RI is only 32%. When it comes to Writing, Classical outshines the statewide proficiency by 27%, and Reading surpasses RI by 19%. Students at Classical High School also do substantially well on SAT Exams. Compared to the state, Classical students’ averages are higher in Mathematics, Reading, and Writing by at least 22 points each. Moreover, the academic accomplishments at Classical carry over to their AP Exams. Out of 615 exams taken, 61% (374) of them scored at “College-Level Mastery” while statewide College-Level Mastery is only at 57%.
Teaching:
The teaching at Classical High School is extremely qualified and faintly superior compared to the teaching statewide. When it comes to the state as a whole, RI schools have 1% of teachers with Emergency Certification and 3% who are not highly qualified. Classical has 0% in both of those criteria. The teacher-student ratio at Classical is 1:14, while statewide is 1:11; based on the student achievement and exceptionally qualified teachers, there are no problems with these numbers.
Families and Communities:
Classical High School has a very diverse background of students. One reason is due to the fact that half of the Providence district is made up of minorities. Out of all of the students attending Classical, only 46% of them are Caucasian, which is significantly lower compared to most schools in the state of RI. 26% of students are Hispanic, 16% are African American, and 9% are of Asian descent. However, many of the students still come from difficult socioeconomic statuses. This is shown in the 61% of students who are eligible for subsidized lunch while statewide eligibility is 46%.
Funding and Resources:
The funding and resources at Classical High School are sufficient for the most part. The District Expenditure per student is about $15,305 which is very close to the amount per student statewide. The resources are good for the students and feel adequate according to the SurveyWorks Student Survey in 2012-2013. 64.7% of students in Classical believe that the computers work well; 79.6% believe the school has enough computers for students to use. When it comes to their books 79.8% do not feel that their classes need to share books. However, even though the resources are sufficient, students believe the school needs work. 77.7% of students at Classical do not believe that the inside of the school looks nice, and another 74.5% feel the same way about the outside of the school.
Conclusion:
Classical High School is very different compared to many other schools in Rhode Island. Not only do they have a 54% of minorities attending Classical, but their average scores for tests such as NECAP and SAT surpass RI as a whole, and are much higher compared to the rest of the Providence district. The information stated shows how developed Classical is as a school and how successful their teaching and grades have developed. The exceptional learning at Classical makes it one of the most diverse high-performing schools in the state, and also in the country.
Sources:
One of the Top High Schools in the Country (n.d.). InClassical High School. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://classicalhighschool.org/about/ Classical High School (2012). In Infoworks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting. Retrieved November 1, 2013
Introduction and Mission Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts is a small independent charter school located in Providence, Rhode Island. It is open to students that live in Providence who are in grades 7-12. Their mission is to, “develop well-rounded, educated, artistic and professional community leaders who practice service and teamwork in initiating and implementing goals, with a focus on the global society” (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.").
TAPA Overall This charter school was founded to help establish a unique arts-integration perspective on learning. Here they encourage that, “students learn math, English, science and history through drama, film, music and dance.” Unlike most schools, art is considered a core subject and is used as a catalyst for the other subjects or at the very least as a tool for connecting thing together. The arts-integration pyramid that is displayed above explains the different levels that they attempt to achieve in the classroom. Only “10-20% of […] class time is spent in the "Independent" section of the pyramid.” (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.”).
Admissions
There are 69 students at the school at the moment in grades 7-9. (Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013). By 2016 there will be children in grades 7-12. It does not charge anything to attend and a school bus is provided for many students. Admissions is based on a lottery system. Applications are taken until February 23rd of each year and the lottery takes place on March 1st. (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.”).
Accountability and Testing
The school is doing quite well in terms of accountability and its testing. As of 2012-2013 the school is considered leading based on their proficiency, gap closure, progress and distinction. They have not yet graduated any students so their score is not reflective of that, although it looks promising that most students will graduate from TAPA. Their NECAP scores are another matter. Every percentage from TAPA is lower than the state average. Granted that there are only 69 students, it still poses a problem. Writing and math scores are among their top scores. 68% of 8th graders are proficient in reading and 50% of 8th graders are proficient in writing. This is still lower than the state’s average of 77% proficient in reading and 65% proficient in writing. The 8th grade science NECAP was the worst problem. In 2011-2012, only 9% of 8th grade students were proficient. This was extremely behind the state average of 30%.(Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).
Students
Attendance is very good at TAPA. The general attendance percentage is 96%; two points higher than the state average. Over 86% of students have never skipped school and only 4% have shown chronic absenteeism. This is much lower than the 14% of Rhode Island kids who continuously skip class. The school population is slightly more female dominated with 58% of the students being female. About 71% of students are of Latino or Hispanic dissent. There is a good percentage, about 16%, of African American students that attend TAPA. The rest of the student population is either white, Native American, Asian, or multiracial. (Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).
In general the students approve of teacher practices. More than 50% of students believe that their teachers give clear instructions and give students enough time to complete their work. Statewide students overall only agree with this 37.5% of the time. 60% of students agree that teachers do not let things get out of control in the classroom, which is also higher than the 57% state average. About half of the students at TAPA believe that their teacher has made the effort to re-explain material different ways until the student understands it. 50% of students also believe that their teachers help them catch up on work if they missed class. Both of these statistics are about 10% higher than the state average. Most students use technology, specifically computers, for most of the core subjects. These include math, art, social studies, science and English. About 80% of TAPA students use computers for all of these subjects, while statewide the highest percentage of computer usage in school for any subject is 56.3%. These statistics demonstrate that the staff and processes at TAPA are creating a good learning environment. They want students to succeed and are willing to put the effort in to see that happen. The introduction of technology into the classroom will also help students in this ever evolving world. (Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).
TAPA is mostly a safe school. 20% of students have reported theft at the school, and this is only about 3% higher than the state average. Overall, almost all students feel safe at and around school. About 97% of students agree that they feel safe in the hallways, and about 80% of students feel safe when they walk outside of school. Statewide only about 85% of students feel safe in the hallways and 82% feel safe outside school. Although the last statistic is a little higher than TAPA’s it is not a significant difference. Like any school there is bullying in many forms. More than 50% of students have been made fun of or insulted, which is higher than the state average of 44%. Other serious forms of bullying are less common, such as being threatened with harm. There are only about 14% of students that have encountered that. In the state the average is higher at about 16%.(Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).
North Cumberland Middle School is located at 400 Nate Whipple Highway in Cumberland Rhode Island. It is responsible for 649 students in grades six through eight. For every thirteen students in North Cumberland Middle School, there is one teacher. The majority of these students are white, with only ten percent of the student population identifying as African American, Asian, Hispanic, or multiracial. Relatively few students attending North Cumberland Middle School are qualified for subsidized lunches. Blackstone Valley Prep Middle School, which is in the same district as North Cumberland Middle School, has about 65% of its students receiving reduced lunches. The state average is 46% of students. North Cumberland Middle School had about 40 incidents of suspension in the school year of 2011-2012. This is only about 5% of the student body. In the state of Rhode Island, about 9% of students were involved in suspensions.
In order to make information relate to the newly founded school, Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts (TAPA), I have compiled a list of data of the mostly the middle schools and high schools in Providence. The Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, as of the data collected from 2012 - 2013 academic year, only had students enrolled in grades 7 through 12. All of the information below has been retrieved from InfoWorks! so that current and relevant information to the school (on my partner's page) can be compared to the Providence district as a whole.
Accountability
On the composite index measures of the state of Rhode Island in the area of proficiency, the middle schools of Providence scored a 10 out 30 whereas the high schools, also of Providence, scored 11 out of 30. The achievement gap at the middle schools received a 16.5 out of thirty and the high schools had a score of 19.5 out of 30 on the composite index measure chart. However, their progress is very well, the middle schools achieved a 10 and the high schools 7 out of the highest composite score of a 10.
Testing
Only 7th through 12th grades were enrolled and the only assessment that was taken at TAPA was the NECAP test. Out of the seventh graders in the Providence district who took the assessment, 34% passed the math with proficient. In the reading section, 46% of those students that took the test passed with proficiency. At the 8th grade level, 34% passed the math and 57% passed the reading with a proficient score. Those at the 8th grade level also took a writing section and science section; those passed with proficiency were 46% and 9% respectively.
Students
In the Providence school district, 93% of middle school students attend regularly and at the high school level, 89% do. Overall, the district has a 92% attendance rate. The middle schools have 23% of their students that have had chronic absenteeism and the high schools, 36%. The city's students are majorly Hispanic, being 64% of the enrolled students. African-American students are another 18% and White another 9% of the student body. The remaining student population is 5% Asian, 3% multiracial and 1% Native American.
The number of incidents of Anger or violence in the school district of Providence at the middle school level has reported 1,153 incidents. However, 711 of them were caused because of fighting and threats/intimidation cases. At the high school level, only 497 incidents were reported and 299 of them involved fighting and threats/intimidation. It is unknown exactly how safe the district's students feel as a whole in and out of school and how they feel about the quality of their teachers.
· All students have the ability to learn and achieve.
· That a safe and secure school is the best environment for teaching and learning.
· It is necessary for students and staff to feel supported and be encouraged to take risks in their learning.
· School, parents and community are partners in providing opportunities for students to become responsible citizens.
· Decision making is a shared endeavor among partners.
· Emerging technologies and supporting resources should be available to the entire learning community.
(“John J. McLaughlin Cumberland Hill School | Cumberland School Department,” n.d.)
Above is the beliefs of John J McLaughlin elementary school. the beliefs show that the school is dedicated to making sure all students can achieve their goals by providing save environments for teaches and students so that they can all be productive members of the community. This school is a public elementary located in the Cumberland school district. I hope to inform the residents of Cumberland about the teachers, the test scores and the safety of the J.J.M. elementary school. with this information they can make an informed decisions on what they think this school would do for their family.
teachers:
The teachers at JJM are all highly qualified and none of them have emergency certificates. This is diffrent than the state averge wich 1% of teachers have emergency certificats and 3% of teachers are not highly qualified. (“InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov,” n.d.) According to no child left behind 2005 fact sheat. a higley qualified teacher has a bachelors degree has passes all state tests for certificates and is proficient in the subject areas they teach .(“New No Child Left Behind Flexibility,” 2005) The teacher student ratio is one teacher for every thirteen kids, which is slightly higher than the teacher ratio for the state which, is one teacher for every eleven kids. This allows for the teachers to spend more time with kids individually because there is more teachers per student. Overall the teachers at JJM are very qualified to teach.(“InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov,” n.d.) test scores:
Year
% Proficient School
% Proficient State
3rd Grade Math
2012-13
75%
60%
3rd Grade Reading
2012-13
95%
70%
4th Grade Math
2012-13
80%
65%
4th Grade Reading
2012-13
82%
69%
4th Grade Science
2011-12
66%
45%
5th Grade Math
2012-13
78%
62%
5th Grade Reading
2012-13
80%
72%
5th Grade Writing
2012-13
41%
59%
The table above is from the info works website and states the percentage of proficient students on the NECAP in each subject area and how that percentage compares to the state. the NECAP is a common assessment given to students to gauge how well the school is doing. JJM is above the state percentages in all areas except for 5th grade writing. There highest percentile is 3rd grade reading which is 95% of the students are proficient in reading. this compared to the state average of 70% of students are proficient in reading. (“InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov,” n.d.)
school safety: 95% of students feel save in school and 80% feel safe walking outside school this is from a survey that the student directly took so therefore this information is how the students feel. 7 % of student have been robbed at school as opposed to the 16% in the state of students that have been robbed at school. 10.9% of students reported getting into a fight this year and 13.7% is the state average for students fighting amongst them self’s. in the school year 2011-2012 there were no suspensions at JJM elementary school but there was 2916 suspensions state wide. This info leads me to believe that this is a safe school compares to the rest of the state there fore the students can focus on learning instead of focusing on there safety.(“InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov,” n.d.) summary: the information in this report touches on just some areas of J.J.M. Cumberland Hill elementary school's environment. the teachers at J.J.M are all highly qualified and there is also a lower student to teacher ratio at this school. the school id doing better than the state on the NECAP in all topics except for fifth grader writing. Almost all of the students feel safe in the school and there are also not many suspensions in this school. with this information I hope that you and your family's can uses it to make the correct choice for your young students and where the best school for them is. Works cited: InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. (n.d.). info works. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/john-j-mclaughlin-cumberland-hill-school/necap-assessments/3rd-grade-math/2012/1
Alyssa NaceSchool Description: International Charter SchoolOctober 28, 2013
International Charter School
Work of a child at ICS (“lucy_c,” n.d.)
Entrance to ICS (“Entrance,” 2009)
A music class at ICS (“music4,” 2008)
Introduction:
International Charter School is located at 334 Pleasant Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island that serves 310 students grades K-5. It is an elementary public school of choice that is dual lingual, so the students are taught in English half the time and either Portuguese or Spanish (depending upon with program they're in) the other half of the time (“Our Programs,” n.d.). The ICS believes that this method of teaching is better than teaching the second language alone in isolation (“About ICS,” n.d.).
The charter for the International Charter School was granted to the International Institute of Rhode Island in 2001. Funding data is unavailable as International Charter School is self-funded, independent, and has it's own 501c3 status (which means they are an American tax-exempt non-profit educational organization). It also has its own Executive Director and Board of Trustees (“About ICS,” n.d.).
Mission Statement:
The mission of ICS is to integrate the diverse languages and cultures of the communities it serves by teaching all students in two languages-in Spanish and English or in Portuguese and English-and helping children develop an appreciation of other cultures. Children learn to work collaboratively from their multiple experiences and backgrounds, striving towards high standards of academic achievement. Everyone is part of a community of learners, engaging in inquiry about the world, themselves, and others" (“Mission,” n.d.).
The Demographics of Students:
The student demographics of the ICS are quite unique. The majority of the students that attend ICS come from the surrounding communities of Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Providence, but ICS is a statewide school and currently enrolls students living in 12 Rhode Island communities (“Student Demographics,” n.d.). That's really unique, because usually schools only serve the communities around them. Most of the student population is Latino (50%). This isn't so surprising knowing that the surrounding communities (Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Providence) have a high percentage of Latinos, but in comparison to other charter schools it's interestingly unique. The rest of the school is 28% White, 20% African American, 1% Asian, and 1% Native American. Slightly more than half (51%) of the students are dominant in either Spanish or Portuguese, and the other 49% are dominant in English. An interesting fact about the student population is that ICS currently enrolls students who were born outside of the U.S. in a variety of countries in Central America, South America, and Africa. The language learners in ICS are divided almost equally, which is intentionally determined in the application process (“Student Demographics,” n.d.). 39% of students at ICS received ESL/Bilingual Education services in the 2012-2013 school year, compared to the states average of just 6% (“International Charter School,” n.d.), This is most likely because of the programs the school offers.
The ICS has a slightly higher percentage of students (57%) that are eligible for subsidized lunch, compared to 46% at the state level (“International Charter School,” n.d.). This is most likely due to the ethnicities of the students and the communities they live in. Also, most charter schools are known to have a low percentage of Special Education students, but at ICS, according to their website, 15% of the student population have IEPs (Individual Learning Plans) and qualify for Special Education. What's also interesting is that these students with IEPs attend regular classes, with students who don't have IEPs, the entire school day (“Student Demographics,” n.d.). ICS had a 95% attendance rate for the 2011-2012 school year, which is slightly higher than the state's attendance rate for that school year (95%). It also had a chronic absenteeism rate of 6%, significantly lower than the state's chronic absenteeism rate of 17% (“International Charter School,” n.d.). This may be because the ICS strives to create a setting in which students can be interested, self-motivated learners.
The Quality of Teachers:
According to SurveyWorks, which has surveys for students, teachers, and parents, overall, students are happy with their teachers, the quality of their teaching, and their dedication to the students (“SurveyWorks Student Survey 2012-2013,” n.d.). A list on the school's website shows that there are Teachers, Teacher’s Assistants, Special Education Teachers, a Reading Support Teacher, a Music Teacher, a Physical Education Teacher, a Visual Arts Teacher, a Library and Technology Specialist, a Behavior Support Specialist, and a School Social Worker (“Staff List and Contact Information,” n.d.). This seems like a solid team for school of only 310 students. There is a discrepancy between what the school website and InfoWorks say the student-teacher ratio is (the school website says it's 18-1 and InfoWorks says it's 12-1). However, either way the ratio is higher than the state's ratio (11-1). In Rhode Island, 3% of the teachers are not highly qualified (they don't have a Bachelor's Degree as a teacher, or they don't have an Associate's Degree as a teacher's assistant). However, at ICS, 9% of the teachers or teacher's assistants are not highly qualified (“International Charter School,” n.d.). This may be because of the unique faculty necessary to run their dual-language programs. At ICS, 4% of teachers have emergency certification, which is higher than the state's 1% of teachers with emergency certification (“International Charter School,” n.d.). Overall, the quality of the teachers at ICS seem to be better than those at other Rhode Island Schools.
The Quality of Education:
The percentages of proficiency in the NECAP assessments for ICS are all below the state averages of proficiency for grades 3-5 (“International Charter School,” n.d.), which may be due to the fact that many of the students are ELLs (English Language Learners). However, International Charter School met APY in the 2011-2012 school year, which means they met the proficiency standards of NCLB (No Child Left Behind). It's odd that they met APY despite their low NECAP scores. ICS has a high stability index (97%) when compared to the state's 87% for the 2011-2012 school year. It also has a very low mobility index (3%) when compared to the state's 14% for this same school year (“International Charter School,” n.d.). This shows that ICS is very successfully retaining their students as the years pass. International Charter School was featured in an article in the Providence Journal because of its success in eliminating the educational gap. It was also 1 of 4 schools featured in the national report Next Generation Charter Schools: Meeting the Needs of Latinos and English Language Learners (“Our Successes,” n.d.).
Conclusion:
Though the students are a bit behind in NECAPs, they seem to be striving to reach the high standards of academic success. Overall, International Charter School achieves its mission. It's diverse, immersive, and integrates the cultures of the communities it serves. Keep it up, ICS!
Not only by the name is there a difference of one being a charter school and one being a public but also in the depth of what classes they are given and also to the specific of what kinds of students attend the the school. there are many schools that have their own unique way to show that they are available for students benefits in what they are interested in such as my school that was mostly concentrated into Biology. Beacon Charter School for the Arts is a charter school that focuses on having students be more concentrated in the arts such as painting, drawing, culinary, and the theater.
Beacon charter schools is a high schools for the arts that consists of having grades 9-12. their main mission in this charter school is different from your normal school, this school focuses on the arts and enhances artistic skills more compared to public schools. there mission stated in their website tells about how they want their students to be prepared with the academic skills necessary for post secondary success.
admission policy Beacon is a public charter school in Rhode Island and to have a student enrolled to the school must find out an application that is on the website and after the admission process is made up of a lottery that picks out the 60 open seats freshmen year and the rest that did not get chosen would be put on a waiting list. Other than having 60 seats open in freshmen year all other years will have zero up to 10 seats open for enrollment.
The attendance rate at Beacon recently in 2012-2013 is 91% compared to the statewide percentage which is 92%. also having the percentage of students attending school there is also the percentage of how many students graduate in 4 years after entering. Statewide the percentage is 77.1% graduate in 2012 and comparing it to Beacon High school where 90.5% of the students graduate in 4 years.
Test Scores comparison In Beacon test scores in NECAP compared to Woonsocket high school show a difference. In the 11th grade Beacon of 2012-2013 had a 28% proficient rate in math while Woonsocket high school had 21% rate, in Reading Beacon had 91% rate as for Woonsocket had a 70% rate, in Writing Beacon had a 83% rate while Woonsocket had 34% rate, and in science Beacon got 27% rate while Woonsocket had 15% rate.
Welcome to the International Charter School! Pawtucket, Rhode Island
The International Charter School is a unique school located at 334 Pleasant Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It serves 310 students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade with a 12:1 student-teacher ratio, with Teachers Assistants in all Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. ICS uses a dual language bilingual education model, in which all students learn 50% of the time in English and 50% of the time in either Spanish or Portuguese, depending on the program of choice. Therefore, the International Charter School serves a unique population and draws a unique team of faculty. The ICS believes that integrating the second language instruction with academic and other content matter is more effective than teaching the second language in isolation. We will be exploring student demographics, teaching quality, achievement success, and funding of ICS.
Mission Statement: The mission of ICS is to integrate the diverse languages and cultures of the communities it serves by teaching all students in two languages-in Spanish and English or in Portuguese and English-and helping children develop an appreciation of other cultures. Children learn to work collaboratively from their multiple experiences and backgrounds, striving towards high standards of academic achievement. Everyone is part of a community of learners, engaging in inquiry about the world, themselves, and others.
Student Demographics:
The student demographics of the International Charter School are unique and rather unusual. The majority (half!) of the population is Latino, rather than White. The ethnicities of ICS include: 50% Latino, 28% White, 20% African American, 1% Asian, and 1% Native American. The language learners are split virtually equally, which is intentionally done in the application process. 51% of the students are dominant in Portuguese or Spanish and 49% are dominant in English. This is extremely unusual for a school. The majority of the students that attend ICS live in Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Providence. However, ICS is a statewide school. It currently enrolls students who live in 12 different Rhode Island Communities. Another unique aspect of the student demographics of the International Charter School is that 15% of its students are born outside of the United States. The ICS currently has students enrolled who were born in Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, the Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Portugal, and Puerto Rico. Generally, charter schools are notorious for having an extremely low percentage of Special Education students, if any at all. At ICS, 15% of the students at have Individual Education Plans (IEPS), which means they qualify for Special Education. However, most of the students with IEPs attend all regular classes for the entire school day. Because of it’s unique population, 39% of students at ICS received ESL/Bilingual Education services in the 2012-2013 school year, which is extremely high compared to the state’s 6%. Additionally, the ICS also has a slightly higher population of students (57%) that are eligible for subsidized lunch, compared to the 46% of the state’s eligible students. This could be due to the locations and ethnicities of ICS’s students. In the 2011-2012 school year, ICS had a 96% attendance rate, which runs true to the 95% attendance rate of Rhode Island. It also only had a 6% chronic absenteeism rate, which is significantly lower than Rhode Island’s rate of 17%. Overall, the International Charter School serves a unique population in which Latinos and ELL students from RI cities are the majority population.
Quality of Teaching:
Based on the student survey, overall, students are happy with their teachers, their quality of teaching, and their dedication to the students. In fact, 100% of the students felt that their teachers like teaching, which is extremely important in motivating students. ICS appears to have a strong team of faculty. This team includes: Teachers, Teacher’s Assistants, Special Education Teachers, a Reading Support Teacher, a Music Teacher, a Physical Education Teacher, a Visual Arts Teacher, a Library and Technology Specialist, a Behavior Support Specialist, and a School Social Worker. 4% of ICS’s teachers have emergency certification, which is slightly higher than the 1% of emergency certified teachers in the state. The teacher-student ratio (1:12) is also very close to the state’s ratio (1:11). However, there is a significant difference in the number of not highly qualified teachers at ICS. In the state of Rhode Island, 3% of the teachers are not highly qualified, meaning they have not obtained a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree (Associate’s Degree if they are a teacher’s assistant). At the International Charter School, 9% of the teachers (possibly including the teacher’s assistants) are not highly qualified. This is three times the state level. However, this significant difference may be due to the unique type of faculty ICS needs because of its dual-language immersion program. In general, the quality of teaching at the International Charter School appears commendable.
Achievement Success:
The International Charter School continues to grow in popularity. There has been a 43% increase in the number of applicants. In the 2010-2011 school year, the International Charter School met the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP), meeting the proficiency standards of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). However, ICS percentages of proficiency in the NECAP assessments are all below (as much as 15%) the state averages of proficiency. We can infer that this difference may be due to the large amount of ELL students ICS houses, putting them at a slight disadvantage for NECAP testing. However, we should also remember that they did meet AYP. Also, in comparison to the state of Rhode Island, the International Charter School has a very high stability index (87% and 97%, respectively) and a very low mobility index (14% and 3%, respectively), which shows that ICS is successfully retaining their students. ICS only had 7 incidents of suspension in the 2011-2012 school year. As a testament to their successes, the International Charter School was 1 of 4 schools featured in the national report Next Generation Charter Schools: Meeting the Needs of Latinos and English Language Learners.
Funding:
The International Charter School is an independent, self-funded corporation, with its own 501c3 status and is responsible for its own budget. ICS has its own Executive Director and Board of Trustees. Funding data is unavailable.
The International Charter School provides a unique opportunity to the state to build on the strengths and needs of the community and to create global citizens who are capable of crossing linguistic and cultural frontiers with ease. Given their distinctive student population, the International Charter School and their dual language immersion program is seeing success.
References
InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. (n.d.). InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/international-charter-school International Charter School. (n.d.). : Teaching in the languages of our community: English, español, Português. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org
Blackstone Valley Prep Middle School is situated in Lincoln Rhode Island, though it is part of the Cumberland school district. This document looks at the comparisons of Blackstone Valley Prep and a school in Lincoln. The reason for this being that while it is part of the Cumberland district, it is in Lincoln.
Accountability
When it comes to the accountability of the schools, Blackstone is given a leading grade and Lincoln is given a typical grade. This means that Blackstone is seen as a better school than Lincoln. One reason this could be is that Lincoln is a poor school. At the Lincoln Middle School, 92.6 of the students are economically disadvantaged, which seems strange as in the community report, Lincoln seemed like a relatively wealthy community. Lincoln spends $15,238 per student, the amount Blackstone spends is not available.
NECAP
Standardized tests are a large part of education and when it comes to the NECAP assessments, both schools scored relatively close to one another. In 6th grade reading, Lincoln has students performing with 87% proficiency, and only 68% in Blackstone. When it comes to 6th grade math Lincoln comes out on top again, though not by much. Lincoln has 75% proficiency while Blackstone has 73%. In 7th grade reading Blackstone has 86% proficiency and 7th only has 78%. In 7th grade math Blackstone is ahead with 93% proficiency while Lincoln only has 65% proficiency. Based on this data, it seems that Lincoln's 6th graders test better than Blackstone's 6th graders and Blackstone's 7th graders test better than Lincoln's. There are 203 students at Blackstone Valley Prep and 852 at Lincoln Middle School. Blackstone's smaller number of students highly suggests that each student gets more individual attention than at Lincoln Middle School. For every single student at Blackstone there are 10 teachers, and for every single student at Lincoln there are 11 teachers. While there is an extra teacher per student at Lincoln, it does not seem to be enough to manage 852 kids. In regards to teachers, Lincoln surpasses Blackstone in this way: 2% of teachers at Lincoln are not highly qualified, whereas at Blackstone 88% are not highly qualified. A highly qualified teacher is in its most basic sense, a teacher without a bachelor's degree. Therefore, it stands to reason the teachers at Blackstone may not have even graduated college. 0% of the teachers at Lincoln are teachers with an emergency certification, where Blackstone has 45%. It's hard to tell which school has better teaching as both have their ups and downs. Based on the numbers, it seems it could be that teachers at Lincoln are more educated/experienced, but are faced with larger numbers of students where as at Blackstone, the less experienced teachers have small groups of children to work with.
Safety
Perhaps one of the most important things at a school is safety. based on the data, Lincoln had 261 incidents of suspension between 2011-12 and Blackstone only had 4. The students at Blackstone seem better behaved but that is probably because they come from better backgrounds than the kids at Lincoln. At Blackstone, 95.5% of students said they felt safe walking the hallways. In Lincoln 53.5% of students agreed, only 38.2% strongly agreed. 8% of students at Blackstone have seen another student with a weapon of some kind and 12.4% have seen a weapon at Lincoln. While these numbers are not shockingly high, they are too high overall. There shouldn't be any weapons at a middle school or any school. Another thing that is important to school is the student's attendance. In the years 2011-12 the students at both schools had a 97% attendance rate, which shows that a large majority of students do go to school.
Diversity
Lincoln is not the most diverse schools with less than 1% receiving bilingual services. At Blackstone however, 88% of students are receiving bilingual services. Blackstone also has a lower percent of students receiving special education services, them having 10% and Lincoln having 14%. 31% of the students at Lincoln are eligible for subsidized lunch and 65% is eligible for it at Blackstone.
Introduction
The high school-aged students in the town of West Greenwich have a few options for where they can attend high school. They can either go to Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School (grades 9-12), which is the public high school that is combined with the town of Exeter so that the student body is adequately large, or go to The Greene School, and independent charter school for grades 9-11. Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School has about 600 students (InfoWorks!), while the Greene School has only 127 stuents enrolled . Teachers
When it comes to experience, it seems like the teachers at EWG have plenty of it. Fifty percent of the teachers at EWG have taught for more than 20 years, compared with the state average of teachers who’ve also taught for 20 years of 24.5%. Many teachers have also taught at the school for a long time. 32.7% of teachers at EWG have taught there for over twenty years, while only 8.1% of Rhode Island teachers have taught at the same school for over twenty years. Impressively, 52.6% of EWG teachers have received a masters degree, which is a little higher than the state average of 48.4%. Of all the teachers at EWG, 26.9% teach math, 15.4% teach language arts, 19.2% teach reading, and 13.5% teach sciences. These high percentages seem to reflect the trend in public schools focusing their energy on teaching math and language in order to prepare students for standardized testing. All other subjects, such as the arts, health, and physical education have less than 10% of staff teaching these subjects. Interestingly, 36.4% of teachers at EWG report that the practices they’re being asked to implement into their lesson plans aren’t effective. In addition, 75% of teachers believe that the teacher performance evaluation process is unfair. These statistics indicate that teachers at the school aren’t happy with the way that administrators are asking them to design their curriculum, and that they aren’t being evaluated fairly. This is probably a result of the emphasis that administrators are putting on standardized tests like the NECAP. (SurveyWorks) Students 1. Student Body General Makeup
Compared with the rest of the state, Exeter West Greenwich Regional doesn’t have a diverse student body. It consists of about 95% white, 3.8% black, 1.7% Asian, 4.0% Native American, and 2.9% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (percentages>100% because students were able to identify themselves as more than one race) (SurveyWorks). The portion of the student body at EWG receiving free lunch is 8%, and the portion receiving reduced lunch is 4%, which are relatively low figures (US News). 11% of students at EWG are receiving special education, which is around the state average of 15% (InfoWorks!). The teacher to student ratio is pretty low at 1:9, while the rest of the state averages at about 1:11 (InfoWorks!). Of the students in the class of 2013, 79.8% planned to go to a four-year college after graduation, and 14.1% planned to attend community college, which leaves 6.1% of the class going on to work, or take time off the figure out a plan. 2. Student Health/Safety
The health of student’s at Exeter West Greenwich is comparative to the health and safety of students in the states of Rhode Island as a whole. Reported cases of asthma at EWG are at 24.8% of the student body, compared to 24.9% of students in Rhode Island. Cases of depression effect 14.5% of EWG’s students, which is low compared to the state average of 29.2% of Rhode Island students reporting depression. The majority of students “agree” that they feel safe in and out of school, and take safety drills seriously, which is also true for the majority of students in the state of Rhode Island. The percentage of students at EWG who have reported at least 1 type of bullying is 36.7%, while 49.7% of Rhode Island students have reported at least one type of bullying. In addition, only 4.4% of students have reported seeing a fight at EWG in the last year, while 9.4% of Rhode Island students have reported witnessing a fight. The drug use at EWG seems pretty high, with 56.8% of students reporting marijuana use in the last month. However, this is almost equivalent to the state average of 57% of Rhode Island students using marijuana in the last 30 days. (SurveyWorks) 3. Student Performance
In the last school year (2012-2013), students at EWG performed well above state averages on the state standardized test known as the NECAP (given to 11th grade students). In the field of math, 61% of students scored proficient, compared to 34% of students in Rhode Island. In reading, a whopping 93% of students scored proficient, while only 79% of Rhode Island 11th graders met the same standard. In writing, 62% of EWG students scored proficient, while 50% of Rhode Island students met the same standard. In the field of science, 54% of EWG students scored proficient, while only 32% of the state’s students met the same standard. Based off of these standardized test scores, students at EWG seem to be performing above average in the areas of math, science, reading, and writing. (InfoWorks) Funding
The residents of West Greenwich seem better off compared with the average resident in the rest of the state, which in turn, benefits the school. For towns with financially secure residents, schools can obtain more funding from the town because the town can implement more/higher taxes on its residents. For example, the district property value per student in West Greenwich is $833,219.14 as of 2009. In addition, the district median family income in the town is $72,745, which is higher than the state average. The district per pupil expenditure for West Greenwich students is $16,778, which is much higher than most of the other districts in the state of Rhode Island. This figure is important, because it determines how much money Exeter-West Greenwich has to pay its charter school counter-part, The Greene School, every time one of their students transfers there. (InfoWorks)
Introduction:
The Paul Cuffee School is a Charter School located in the Providence School District. The research below discusses many aspects that are unique to the Paul Cuffee School. Paul Cuffee is a relatively new school, with a emphasis on family involvement, extra curricular activities, and student services. Overall the school is successful in providing extra assistance for it's students and families. However, as a charter school it fails to provide these opportunities to all students in the Providence school district. This report aims to inform parents of the Providence School District about the quality of education their child would receive if they are selected to attend the Paul Cuffee School. It also aims to compare this charter school's performance to public schools in the state. This context report aims to demonstrate the successes and weaknesses of the Paul Cuffee School.
Mission and History
The Paul Cuffee School, located in Providence Rhode Island opened its doors in September 2001. The mission statement is as follows: to create a school that would meet the individual needs of Providence's diverse students through a maritime themed curriculum that promotes social and civic skill-building as well as outstanding academic learning. This statement reveals that the goal of the Paul Cuffee School is to provide a diverse group of students with the skills they need to success in their community both socially and intellectually. The "social and civic skill building" referenced in the mission statement, suggests that the Paul Cuffee School hopes to produce students who can relate to others, while having a positive influence in their community. The mission statement also states that it wishes to promote "outstanding academic learning," which suggests that this Charter School wishes to focus on providing a high quality education for it's students. The Paul Cuffee School initially began with four grades (K-3). Fourth and fifth grade students started in 2002 and 2003 as the younger students advanced and new students at the joined the younger grade levels. By the 205-For the 2005-2006 scholastic year, there were students enrolled in grades K-7. In November of 2005, a middle school was opened just two block aways, enabling students 6-8 to attend. The Paul Cuffee School is relatively new, which indicates that it has modern classrooms and equipment. It's inclusion of a range of grade levels provides students with a consistent type of schooling (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”).
A Diverse Student Population:
Rhode Island’s capital city, Providence, contains 47 public schools which serve over 30,000 students. Of the three hundred thousand students, about 600 are educated through the Paul Cuffee School. The Paul Cuffee elementary school has a higher percentage of females than males. Of these students, 56% identify as Hispanic or Latino, 32% identify as White and 38% identify as Black or African American. (Great Schools, "Paul Cuffee School- greatschools.org") This suggests that the Paul Cuffee School is relatively diverse. Many different racial backgrounds are represented in the student body.
Organization and Acceptance
The Paul Cuffee School system is very well organized. The school is governed by a Board of Trustees. The 24 members of this board are appointed by the Sailing Institute. The Sailing Institute is the name of the private ownership of the Paul Cuffee School. The Board of Trustees is made up of teachers, parents, and different community members and agencies. Meetings are held once a month. In the past year there as been a Strategic Planning Committee added and an Education committee. Students in the Paul Cuffee school are admitted through a lottery system. The class sizes are relatively small. Teachers will have no more than 17 students in their classroom. A smaller class size is an asset for any school. Charter schools such as Paul Cuffee, are able to have small classes because they are not teaching an entire district. This gives children a more personal education. Teacher's assistants are available, and focus on individualized instruction. The admission through the lottery system prohibits all students in the district from receiving this type of education. Furthermore, the Paul Cuffee School is permitted to skim it's students. This means that if a student does not meet the schools standards, the Paul Cuffee School can return that student to public school (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”).
Active Family Involvement
The Paul Cuffee School aims to keep families very involved in their child's education. This is a benefit, considering that a families active contribution to school can contribute to a child's success.Family support and involvement will help children feel connected to the school. The Paul Cuffee School has two part-time Family Coordinators to aid in family engagement. One of the two Family Coordinators is bilingual, which is helpful given the large hispanic population that attends this school. This individual works with the family outreach and has organized events such a clothing drives, translation equipment, and school dinners. This aids in a sense of community for the Paul Cuffee School. In addition, there is a classroom space for the Family Center, that has hours in which parents can drop in. This allows parents to be aware of what is happening in the school, and allows them to support students at home. In this space the social worker and the Wellness Director discusses important topics. Parents of students with special needs can be involved in the Parent Coordinators group which meets three times a year. The Paul Cuffee School has an active PTA/PTO group that organized various activities. The Paul Cuffee School makes it very accessible for parents to be involved in their child's education. (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”).
Opportunities for Academic Support
The Paul Cuffee School offers a variety of ways to support students with academic needs. Paul Cuffee's special education services, utilize inclusion to allow special educators to support students without special needs and provide additional assistance to those with special needs during a resource period. Special Education services are made possible by a special educator, speech therapist, along with an occupational therapist. To qualify for these services, students must be diagnosed with a specific disability by the school's multidisciplinary Special Education Team. The Paul Cuffee School is unique in providing Special Education opportunities. Since special education students are less likely to score high on state tests, they are less likely to contribute to a charter schools high test performance. For this reason, many charter schools do not cater to students with special needs. Paul Cuffee's special education program is a rarity in most charter schools. The Paul Cuffee School also supports students academic growth with after-school tutoring sessions. These sessions are available four times a week and include computer lab time is necessary. Saturday School, and English Language Learn supports are also available. All students who attend the Paul Cuffee School have a study period. These study periods allow students to focus on one particular subject. Summer support is not as prevalent but is available if a child needs. Paul Cuffee's academic support will permit students a suitable environment to study outside of the classroom. (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”).
Quality Health Services
In school, good health is necessary for attendance Proper attendance leads to more classroom time and therefore more undisrupted learning. The Paul Cuffee School is staffed with two registered nurses. They are able to do regular health screenings and also teach the health curriculum to students. The school nurse is able to house and dispense student prescriptions, given a parent note is provided. School nurses perform state mandated screenings for hearing, vision, dental health, and scholiosis. Flu clinics are also provided each fall for students, staff and parents (Paul Cuffee School, "Health Services and Education- paulcuffee.org."). Regular health screenings are extremely beneficial because it allows students to be healthy and capable of participating in school
Inadequate Extracurriculars
A downfall in the Paul Cuffee school, is that many extra curricular activities are funded by personal income. If a child wishes to participate in an after school activity, the funding must come out of their parents pocket. Furthermore, there are not always enough spaces for all children to participate. Paul Cuffee School's After School Club is available for students in years K-8. The program runs after school and offers with a range of fun yet educational activities. To be apart of this club, there is a fee based on family income. Another program available is the enrichment program for children years K-8. This program focuses on activities such as sailing, book club, chess club, basketball and soccer. However, there is more interest than spots available so a lottery system is utilized to determine who can participate. Middle School sports are fee based as well. However, middle school clubs meet during the school day on fridays for no fee. There is no fee for sports at the High School level. There are no clubs offered but there are electives that can be taken during the day. (Paul Cuffee School, "School Sport, Clubs, and Activities- paulcuffee.org) The fee for younger students to participate in extra curriculars, may discourage many children from joining. Extra curriculars are necessary for young students to develop a sense of identity, and how to work with others. The lack of after school clubs offered in High School and Middle School, may cause these students to engage in risky behavior, since they will not be kept busy after school. Also only offering electives limits the amount of areas of interest a child can explore. Paul Cuffee's extra curriculars do not provide enough support for its students
Safety Concerns
The Paul Cuffee School has higher rates of bullying compared to the rest of Rhode Island. According to an infoworks survey 53.2% of students at the elementary level experience bully, where 42% of students in the rest of rhode island . However, 70% of students in the Paul Cuffee School stated that the bullying stopped with parent or teacher intervention. Only 60% of students in Rhode Island said that bullying stopped after intervention. In the Paul Cuffee school 0% of 4-5th grade students have been offered drugs in school, while 1% have state wide. Seventy percent of parents said that they feel that the Paul Cuffee School is a safe environment for their children, while 60% percent of Rhode Island parents do not strongly agree that their schools are safe (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”). The Paul Cuffee School is relatively safe for it's students. A safe school enviroment is necessary for academic success. Student's will not be able to focus on their coursework if they are constantly experiencing fear. However, the high rates of bullying that are reported suggest that their maybe distraction in the classroom.
Teacher Quality
A survey of fourth and fifth grade students indicate, that the students have a high opinion on their teachers in comparison to student opinions in the rest of the state. Students in the Paul Cuffee School feel that they have a sufficient amount class time to do work (60%). While only 54% feel this way in the rest of Rhode Island. Sixty eight percent of students stated that they feel their teachers give clear directions, 57.7% of students feel that peers are given a fair chance in class, and 60% say that they're teachers make students want to learn. In comparison to the rest of Rhode Island these percentages are equivalent (RIDE, “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov.”). This suggests this charter school teachers are not anymore successful than the rest of Rhode Island teachers. Many government officials are concerned about the quality of public education. However, replacing public schools with charter schools, are not making children anymore eager to learn.
Conclusion
The Paul Cuffee School has weaknesses and strengths in it's structure. The Paul Cuffee School has met the the No Child Left Behind standards as of 2011. It provides many services to it's students such as academic support, family involvement, and health services. However, in regards to performance, the Paul Cuffee School is not much different than other Rhode Island Schools. This is important to consider when examining our public school system. Many government officials argue that charter schools are better because they promote more individualized instruction. Despite this aspect, the Paul Cuffee School is no more successful than any other school in Rhode Island, in fact their test scores are same or lower. Extenuating influences such a poverty or quality of community, not class sizes, are what truly cause the achievement gap. Furthermore, the Paul Cuffee School does not offer many extra curriculars and has a high rate of student bullying. Both these aspects can hinder a child's performance. Unlike many charter schools, the Paul Cuffee school does make the effort to serve students from different backgrounds and those with special needs. This school is unique in it's approach to serve a diverse student population. However, it is no more successful than any other school in the state.
Works CitedInfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/paul-cuffee-charter-school
Great Schools - greatschools.org (n.d). Retrieved December 2, 2013, from http://www.greatschools.org/rhode-island/providence/457-Paul-Cuffee-Charter-School/
Paul Cuffee School- paulcuffee.org (n.d). Retrieved October 29, 2013 from http://www.paulcuffee.org/
Kingston Hill Academy
By: Rebecca Bevacqua
Introduction: Kingston Hill Academy (KHA) is a public charter school located in Saunderstown, Rhode Island. Being a public charter school means that there is no additional tuition to attend the institution. In 2001, the school opened with 40 Kindergarten students and today, the school has grown to about 180 students in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade. KHA is chartered for up to 260 students, Kindergarten through Eighth grade and is exploring the opportunity of expanding to accommodate middle school students. KHA is almost even when it comes to a boy-girl ratio of 41.5:56.1 (2.4% chose not to disclose information). In Rhode Island, the ethnicity rates are:81.4% white, 5.7% black, 0.1Native American/ Pacific Islander, and 3.3% more than one race. KHA reflects these numbers by its own ethnicity rates: 94.7% white , 2.6% black, 2.6% Native American/Pacific Islander, and 5.3% more than one race.
In order to be enrolled in KHA, students must win the "lottery system", as mandated by Rhode Island state law. A public lottery, held in accordance with RIDE (Board of Regents of the Rhode Island Department of Education) guidelines, is conducted each spring to fill all positions available. Families who are then selected in the lottery will be contacted and asked about their interest. If interested, they will be asked to complete the enrollment forms.
KHA is operated under a charter granted by RIDE and follows RIDE regulations, assessment and teaching standards and all other requirements mandated for traditional public schools in Rhode Island. Teachers and teacher assistants are certified by the State of Rhode Island and meet highly qualified status under No Child Left Behind. KHA has a 185-day school year; and the daily hours are 8:40 AM to 3:10 PM. Meals, including breakfast and lunch, are available to students and transportation is provided by the sending school district and there is no charge to the family if the family lives within the KHA bussing region.
Mission: "Kingston Hill Academy (KHA) is dedicated to providing students with the opportunity for an inclusive, individualized, and challenging curriculum that supports them to reach their full potential"
Typical Day (directly from the KHU Website):
• At the start of each day, morning greetings are delivered by fifth grade students. Following announcements, the students participate in relaxation exercises then many classes hold morning meetings to discuss the agenda for the day.
• Classes are team-taught (teacher and teacher assistant)
• Hands-on science kits are integrated in daily curricula
• Multi-sensory learning techniques through art integration
• Cross grade-level cooperative learning experiences, such as chorus, drama, karate, etc.
• Physical education/health classes (full time nurse)
• Spanish Integration
• Offers a full time kindergarten.
• After School Enrichment programs provide activities such as sports, drama, garden art, etc.
• At other times, students are grouped by interest levels. For example, each Friday, students get together for ELPs (Exploratory Learning Programs). Students get to rank their top choices for a six-week class taught by a teacher or consultant. Classes have included specialized sciences, creative writing, music, gardening, mural painting, digital technology, furniture refurbishment, puppetry, tumbling, and many others.
• Technology is currently being upgraded with new computers and Smart Boards in the classrooms.
School wide behavior plan. Behavior Plan
Family Support:
Support at home is vital in a student's success. Encouragement from parents gives a child motivation that helps him/her succeed. At the Kingston Hill Academy, parents seem to be very supportive. Students responded that their parents are eager to know what their child is doing in school (92.3% at Kingston Hill Academy, and 94.8% statewide). In addition, 100% of Kingston Hill students and 99.5% of Rhode Island students said that their parents want them to get good grades. Parents not only focus on school presently, but the future of their children. 85% of Kingston Hill Academy parents talk to their child about jobs they may want in the future, 86.5% of Rhode Island parents do as well. 87.5% of Kingston Hill parents and 86.5% of Rhode Island parents talk to their children about going to college. Parents not only show their support, but also get involved in the Board of Trustees.
Board of Trustees:
Kingston Hill Academy has a board of trustees that meets throughout the school year to facilitate the planning and development of the school. The Board of Trustees consists of parents, members from the sponsor organization (Groden Center), special and general education professionals, community partners, university faculty, and parents of general and special education students.
Funding:
Kingston Hill Academy is very well funded. This allows for proper facilities and materials for students. Students report that they have adequate desks, enough books for everyone, and an attractive school. KHA give students a place to be proud to attend and learn in. Relatedly, attendance rates for KHA is slightly above the statewide percentage; students are attending school 96% in comparison to 95% statewide. More drastically, chronic absenteeism is much lower for KHA than it is statewide (KHA is only 3% while statewide, it is 17%).
Assessments:
KHA has two assessments for students: Lexia and Symphony Mathis. Lexia is a technology-based system that is a component of the reading curriculum. It provides structured practice on essential reading skills such as phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. It's a program to advance foundational reading development for students of all abilities, pre-K through grade 4, and accelerate reading development for at-risk students in grades 4–12. Symphony Mathis is a web-enabled program that helps students understand at a conceptual level. Students move at their own pace and learn how math works.
For more information: Lexia
and
Symphony Math
In addition to the Lexia and the Symphony MAthia, The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) is administered to all third, fourth and fifth grade students each fall. This test is an assessment of student aptitude in the areas of Language Arts (Reading and Writing) and Mathematics. A science NECAP is administered to fourth graders each spring. As shown in the table below, KHA is well above the proficiency rates in every grade and subject according to the state proficiency.
Conclusion:
Kingston Hill Academy is an excellent school for students. It is well above the academic achievement levels of the state. KHA has highly qualified and caring teachers, a nurturing community, and sufficient funding. Based on surveys, students seem to enjoy attending Kingston Hill Academy. Overall, Kingston Hill is a great school that plans on expanding in the future.
Citations:Rhode Island Department of Education. “InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Infoworks Live. 2011. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.
"WELCOME TO KINGSTON HILL ACADEMY." WELCOME TO KINGSTON HILL ACADEMY. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.kingstonhill.org/>.
291 Broad St
Cumberland, RI
(401) 335-3133
Introduction
Located in Cumberland Rhode Island, lies Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary School 1. Catering to scholars from the surrounding areas of Central Falls, Lincoln and Pawtucket; BVP serves students in Kindergarten through Fifth grade. They argue that students are so much more then just students; they are scholars. At BVP, educators try to prepare students for success later in life as well as in their higher education career.
Test Scores
One of the main goals of charter schools like BVP is to have their students achieve a certain level of success on standardized testing. When students preform amicably on these tests, it shows the community that the school is successful in preparing students for higher education. BVP is no exception, during the 2012-2013 school year both the third grade math and reading scores were much improved over that of the state. In math, over eighty percent of BVP students achieved or succeeded the target score. The same percentage was met with the reading section of the NECAP. These scores are much different than that of the state which was sixty percent in math and seventy in reading respectively. The reasons for these impressive scores include the teachers and the dedication of students. At BVP, all of the teachers are certified in elementary education. Students show their dedication through their impeccable attendance rate of ninety eight percent.
Teacher's Role
Teachers play an important role in starting the preparation of young students for higher education. At BVP, teachers range in experience from less than a year to more than twenty years. This provides new teachers with a mentor who can show them some of the tricks of the trade while newer teachers can provide innovative and new teaching strategies. In the state of Rhode Island, most teachers provide students with the ability to revise assignments. This can cause the child to not work as hard the first time around. It is for this reason that unlike the forty five percent of Rhode Island teachers who allow this, just under ten percent of BVP teachers give their students this option. Teachers at BVP view different things as the "most important" than the state, this can be seen in the way they weigh grades. At BVP, end of the year exams account for double what they do in the state. In Rhode Island they are weighted at about forty percent. At BVP, they are almost eighty percent. On the opposite end, Rhode Island schools put more emphasis on classwork, accounting for almost eighty eight percent. At BVP, classwork accounts for only seventy percent. The homework assigned is also different. At BVP, they will assign more work out of class, making homework take a little longer than that of other schools in Rhode Island. It is all a balancing act, the more homework, the less emphasis on classwork and vice versa. Thus, the role of the teacher and the way in which they choose to lead their classroom will have different effects on students.
Parents Role
A parent's role in a young child's schooling can have a great impact on their lives later on. At BVP, parents are very involved in activities for the school. Whether it be parent teacher conferences or after school program events, the presence of parents is easily seen. While parent's participation can be seen throughout the state, it is more popular at BVP. Unlike the rest of Rhode Island, the parent's relationship with BVP is overwhelmingly, with eighty two percent, viewed as an important partnership. In Rhode Island, only forty two percent of people strongly agree with this fact. If a parent ever needed to get in contact with the school or vice versa, it is important to have a good relationship between the two. Without this, it would be difficult to ever meet the student's needs.
Works Cited
“RISchools - Blackstone Valley Description.” Accessed November 1, 2013. http://rischools.wikispaces.com/Blackstone+Valley+Description.
“Surveyworks-2012-2013-blackstone-valley-prep-elementary-school-student-parent-teacher-es.pdf.” Accessed November 1, 2013. http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/files/surveyworks/2012-2013/combined/surveyworks-2012-2013-blackstone-valley-prep-elementary-school-student-parent-teacher-es.pdf.
Introduction
Students that live in the West Greenwich area have multiple high schools that they have the opportunity to attend. Students are blessed with the opportunity to go to either Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School, the public high school that also attends to students from Exeter, or go to the Greene School, an independent charter high school. The Greene School is centered around developing personal, community and global stewardship using a curriculum that is based on environmental science and technology that affects the natural world. Within this school students learn to develop and integrate their strengths in local and global communities, becoming an important role in both. This school has an emphasis on promoting ethic excellence, and character development for moral and social responsibilities. Students are prepared to be informed, skilled, active and innovative community leaders who will become the “environmental stewards of the future.” Students will understand and apply the concept of stewardship as the careful and responsible management all: human, physical, biological and financial resources (Mission).
Students
Even with only 127 students, the Greene School still is able to make a name for itself because of the students overall proficiency. After taking the NECAP assessment, in 2012, 11th graders scored 90% proficient in reading, which is outstanding to the rest of the state at only 79%. These students blew out the rest of the other state with their science scores being 49% compared to 32%. The students are above average in writing, scoring 54%. Even in the Greene School's weakest subject, math, the students scored higher then the rest of the state with 38% compared to 34% (InfoWorks). These students are excelling over the rest of the state. The success of these students can be correlated to the small size and wealth of the area. Only 17% of the students are eligible for subsided lunch which is shocking compared to the state's rate which is 46% (InfoWorks). All students are given special attention with the outstanding 1:11 teachers to students ratio (InfoWorks). There are also 23% of students are receiving special educational services. The small size of the school gives teachers a student body that has 94% attendance rate (InfoWorks). When students come to school and have extra attention from the teachers, test scores skyrocket.
"Mission Vision." The Greene School. The Greene School, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
"InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov." InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. InfoWorks, 8th June 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Matunuck Elementary School
380 Matunuck Beach Rd. South Kingstown R.I 02879Introduction
Matunuck Elementary School is nestled far off in the crook of trees and sprawling fields of South Kingstown RI. It is minutes away from Rhode Island's southern shore and its coastal community remains a prominent cornerstone in its school culture. Situated between Carpenter's Farm, Clark Farms and other locally run farm land the students are exposed to a rural and peaceful landscape.
Who Goes to Matunuck Elementary School?
There is little racial diversity at Matunuck Elementary School. 95% of the students there are considered white, 3% are multiracial, and only 2% identify with hispanic and Asian heritage. These demographics reflect those found in the South Kingstown community, accept for the Native American population there (Rhode Island Department of Education). This could be an indicator of higher income families living in the Matunuck school district. The waterfront properties surrounding the school would also suggest advantaged families capable of paying hight taxes for their valuable properties. It is notable that, South County's concentration of low income housing is based in Peace Dale, serviced by a separate elementary school than Matunuck El. (South Kingstown Geographic Information System (Division of the Planning Department)).
.
How Effective in Terms of Standardized Testing is Matunuck El.?
Matunuck Elementary faired well in NECAP grades for 2012-13, deeming them a qualified school in the eyes of the state.The 3rd graders were considered 28% more proficient than the State average in their Math NECAP score and 18% more proficient in reading. The 4th graders also performed higher than the stage average on their NECAP assessment. For math they were 29% more proficient than the state, reading they were 17% more proficient and in science they were an astonishing 25% more proficient (Rhode Island Department of Education). Above all of this the principle of Matunuck Elementary, Debra Zepp was awarded principle of the year by the R.I. Association of School Principles in 2011
(“R.I. Association of School Principals | PowerIT”). It is clear that, under the leadership of Principle Zepp, students are thriving in the academic atmosphere at Matunuck Elementary School.
.
Are teachers at Matunuck El. qualified in terms of data?
The teaching staff at Matunuck Elementary is considered "highly qualified" by RI InfoWorks. This means they are state certified, skilled and practiced in their teaching focus, and hold a bachelors degree. Non of the teachers there hold emergency certification, meaning they are all state certified and were not given special permission to teach before getting their certification. The teacher to student ratio is 1:11.
(Rhode Island Department of Education).
Where does Matunuck El. receive funding?
Matunuck Elementary has an active PTO and is able to fund various improvements to the school. It's biggest fundraiser of the year,a Jog-A-Thon was reported to have grossed 6,500 dollars from various parents and donors. The PTO's Financial Report for 2013 mentions using their funds to buy classroom gathering rugs, projectors, a computer reading enrichment program, and a new sound system (“Matunuck Elementary Home Page”). Besides the PTO, Matunuck Elementary has a district expenditure of $16,082 per student, as of 2009
(Rhode Island Department of Education). The PTO's strong participation is a strong indicator of parental quality in the Matunuck El. community as well as the advantaged socioeconomic status of these parents.
Works Cited
“Matunuck Elementary Home Page.” N. p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.
Rhode Island Department of Education. “Matunuck Elementary.” N. p., n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2013.
“R.I. Association of School Principals | PowerIT.” N. p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.
South Kingstown Geographic Information System (Division of the Planning Department). “Planning: Affordable Housing Production Plan | Town of South Kingstown.” N. p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
Introduction
The Compass school opened in 2002 by a group of parents who wanted their kids to learn in a different way and use their brains. It is a K-8 school located in South Kingstown and has a total of 153 students. The curriculum at the Compass school focuses heavily on projects to integrate learning. By doing this, they feel, that the students learn the relevance of the information they learn and are able to take responsibility for and learn to present their work. The Compass School is based upon six key concepts and programs which include: parental involvement, environmental sustainability, site-based management, multistage approach, project-based teaching approach and social responsibility. The application process is based on a lottery system for all students that submit an application. If they are not picked initially, they are put on the waiting list and entered into the next lottery. In this report I will look at the demographics of the school, the effectiveness, specifically looking at standardized test scores, the teacher quality, and the school funding compared to statewide averages.
Welcome to the Compass School. (n.d.). Compass School. Retrieved October 20, 2013, from http://www.compassschool.org/home/
Demographics
The Compass school does not have much, if any diversity. The majority of students (96%) are white, and the remaining 4% is distributed between African American (1%), Native American (1%), and Hispanic (2%). When comparing this to the demographics to South Kingstown as a whole, it is not much different. In South Kingstown, 90.8% of people are white and the other 9.2% is split between Hispanic, American Indian, Asian, and Black.
"InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov." InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/the-compass-school>.
Welcome to the Compass School. (n.d.). Compass School. Retrieved October 20, 2013, from http://www.compassschool.org/home/
Effectiveness
When comparing NECAP test scores of the Compass school to the statewide proficiency, the Compass school is significantly at a higher proficiency percentage in each grade and subject. At the Compass school, 4 percentages are 100% proficiency. These are 3rd grade math, 5th grade math, 5th grade reading, and 7th grade reading. The lowest proficiencies at the Compass school are 63% in 5th grade reading and 67% in 8th grade science. At the statewide level, the percentages are much lower, the lowest being 27% in 8th grade science and the highest being 77% in 8th grade reading.
"InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov." InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/the-compass-school>.
Teacher Quality
The teachers at the Compass school have a higher percentage of teachers that are not highly qualified. The percentage from 2010-2011 for not highly qualified teachers is 7% at the Compass School as compared to 3% as the statewide percentage. Although this school has a relatively high number of not qualified teachers, this does now mean the school has bad teachers. Highly qualified means the teacher has a degree in the area they are teaching, therefore at this school, the high percentage could be because the teachers do not have degrees in their subject or in education. The teacher-student ratio is equivalent to the statewide average of 1:11.
"InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov." InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/the-compass-school>.
School Funding
The Compass school receives its funding from public tax dollars and Federal and State grants. The district per pupil expenditure is $16,082. At the statewide level, the per pupil spending is $15,173. Therefore, the funding per pupil at the Compass school is above the state average by approximately $900.
"InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov." InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/the-compass-school>.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Compass school is above the state average in testing and pride themselves on working to make their students use their brains. Their teacher quality is below state averages, but it is difficult to draw conclusions from the statistics given for teacher quality due to the criteria for a high quality teacher. Also, the funding at the Compass school is above state average. This information is important for people looking to analyze the Compass school, or for parents considering having their child attend. It outlines the school as a whole based on demographics, performance, teacher quality, and funding and compares to statewide averages in order to give the reader a better idea of the school.
Works Cited
"InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov." InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/the-compass-school>.
Welcome to the Compass School. (n.d.). Compass School. Retrieved October 20, 2013, from http://www.compassschool.org/home/
Introduction
No one has ever been told becoming a nurse is going to be easy. College freshmen are immediately enrolled into a demanding curriculum. The Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Charter School located in Providence, prepares 134 aspiring nurses in every aspect of the field. These students are geared to focus in the subject of science and high levels of math. Students must be aware of the possible prolonged semester and grueling hours that can also include summer classes. Because this is one of the first charter schools of its nature, it is currently receiving a lot of recognition from scholars and the community as a whole. Highly recognized nurses have visited and observed the school since its opening in 2011 in hopes that this is the start of a new form of career education. The objective of this charter school is to produce well educated and experienced nurses that will pave the way for other schools similar to this, leading to the expansion of the use of charter schools associated with nursing and career development. Because this school is still developing certain aspects such as student achievement, the faculty within the school, and the surrounding community are continuously being analysed for their effectiveness.
Student Achievement
As a new school that is highly regarded, it is crucial that the students excel in all aspects of their academics. Compared to the state of Rhode Island, this nursing charter school is considered ‘leading’ according to InfoWorks. Upon evaluation, this charter school was given 74.6 points while Rhode Island as a whole scored 56.0 out of a possible 100 points. When 11th graders were measured individually in various subjects, they ranked below the average Rhode Island student. In 2012-2013 academic year, 19% of the students were classified as proficient in math, the state had 34% of its students as proficient. The 15% difference can be seen as a significant margin but does not call for concern yet, due to the charter school's recent opening in 2011. However, in one year the charter school's mathematic scores' increased from 4% to 19% whereas Rhode Island only had a 4% increase during that same year. In regards to reading, the charter school;s scores are dramatically increasing (by 21%) whereas Rhode Island is only slightly increasing (by 3%). It is evident that this nursing school is still in the developmental stages but rapidly evolving and preparing their students significantly each year for standardized testing.
Faculty
The field of nursing requires an understanding of complex material as well as the ability to apply that material to clinical settings. This nursing charter school provides well qualified instructors who are highly regarded in their designated areas of nursing. They hire college level professors and certified secondary level educators. In addition, nurse practitioners are hired to teach the more rigorous curriculum and provide advice from their own past experiences. The instructors work within smaller classes demonstrating techniques and clarifying questions posed by the students. This school offers opportunities such as the option to earn college credits and take part in hands-on experience. Once these students complete the program, they are more likely to be granted acceptance into prestigious universities in hopes of furthering their nursing careers.
Families and Communities
Providence is known to be the home of many families within the lower class who contribute to the poverty rate of Rhode Island. Over 80% of the students that attend the Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Charter School are eligible for subsidized lunches according to InfoWorks. The state of Rhode Island’s average eligibility for reduced lunches is 46%. This number is so high due to the large amount of students coming from the Providence area. This school does not offer bilingual aid however 6% of the Rhode Island students require this assistance. The nursing institute does, however, offer special education services to the 4% of students that call for this additional help. In order for this school to further succeed, it must accommodate to the population of Providence.
Conclusion
The Rhode Island Nurses Institute is a work in progress but is clearly being met with high expectations. The school offers a wide variety of opportunities and resources for future nurses to become better acquainted with. The students' rigorous curriculum is constantly developing, therefore the students are expected to maintain high academic standings. These students are taught by the most qualified professors and continuously challenged in and outside the classroom. Although some of these students may be suffering from hardships in their family life, their academics are not as heavily affected because of the amenities provided by the school. The environment of this particular charter school is set up for the students to flourish and develop into working nurses.
Cites:
RI Nurses Institute Middle College Charter High School. InfoWorks; Rhode Island Education Data Reporting! Infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school. http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/ri-nurses-institute-middle-college-charter-high-school/accountability/accountability-summary/2012/1
Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College Chart School. Tomorrrowsnurses.org. http://www.tomorrowsnurses.org/about/
Stony Lane Elementary School
Introduction:
Every child's education has to start somewhere. There are many school options for students that live in Rhode Island. Stony Lane Elementary School is a public school located in North Kingstown, RI that offers grades K-5. This is a great place for kids to begin schooling if they live in the Kingston area. It is open to all types of students that live in the area. It offers a broad education to all students in a safe environment so the kids can flourish and get the help they need to learn their basics.
Mission: (Stony Lane Mission)
"The mission of Stony Lane School is to educate the children of North Kingstown in partnership with families and community to create a safe, caring, supportive and respectful environment, where all students become responsible, life-long learners and contribute positively to our global society."
Daily Schedule: (Stony Lane Daily Schedule)
Students:
For the 2012-2013 school year, there were 459 students at Stony Lane School. Of these, 8% are eligible for subsidized lunch. This rate is much lower than the state's, which is 46%. Less than 1% of the students at Stony Lane School are receiving ESL/bilingual education services while Rhode Island as a whole has 6%. 7% of students are receiving special education services, which is just under half the amount of Rhode Island as a whole, which has 15%. When it comes to standardized testing, (NECAP), Stony Lane School has significantly more students who score as proficient than the state. The percent of third graders at Stony Lane that read at a proficient level is 88 % while it is 70% in all of Rhode Island. Math was at 82% compared to 60% in all of Rhode Island. This trend continues throughout fourth and fifth grade where Stony Lane School's proficiency rate is much higher than that of the entire state. (InfoWorks!)
Safety and Support:
Attendance rate for elementary schools in Rhode Island is 95% while Stony Lane has 97%. Attendance is very important for students, especially at such a young age so they start off right and are getting the basic education they need. Chronic absenteeism in Rhode Island is at 17% while Stony Lane School is 1%. This is good because Stony Lane has a very low rate of chronic absences, which aren't good for a child's early education. Safety is also key when it comes to a school's success. The number of incidents that occur in Rhode Island elementary schools is 2,916 while Stony Lane School has had 0. The stability index for this school is 97% while for all elementary schools statewide it's 87%. The mobility index is only 2% at this school compared to 14% for the entire state. This is a significant difference for the 2012-2013 school year. (InfoWorks!)
Works Cited:
"InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov." InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/stony-lane-elementary-school>.
Stony Lane Elementary School - Mission Statement. (n.d.). Stony Lane Elementary School - Mission Statement. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www2.nksd.net/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=5216&
Stony Lane Elementary School - Daily Schedule. (n.d.). Stony Lane Elementary School - Daily Schedule. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www2.nksd.net/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=6866&
School Description of B.F Norton Elementary SchoolLocated in: Cumberland, Rhode IslandBy: Ariana Grande
B.F Norton Elementary School resides in the small town of Cumberland, Rhode Island. With 8,324 children enrolled in school in Cumberland, B.F Norton is just one option that serves the community. Located on Broad Street, B.F Norton sits right down the road from a neighboring charter school, Blackstone Valley Prep. The idea of this school description, is to give a thorough understanding of B.F Norton, a public elementary school, that serves the community of Cumberland, Rhode Island.
Funding: In the Cumberland, Rhode Island school district, $11,090 per student is spent. This is significantly lower than the Rhode Island funding per student which is $15,173.
Title 1 School: B.F Norton Elementary School is classified as a Title 1 School. A Title 1 School, is one that "
meet[s] federal rules related to teacher qualifications as defined in No Child Left Behind. These rules allow you to learn more about your child’s teacher’s training and credentials." (B.F Norton Website) As a Title 1 School, there are certain expectations of teachers that parents can expect to see fit. For example, a parent can ask about the credentials of their child's teacher, what degrees he or she possesses, and if they are emergency certified.
Student Characteristics: Students who attend B.F Norton Elementary School, are made up of a few different racial backgrounds. The two greatest percentages of backgrounds are white, with 69%, and hispanic, with 21%. The remaining students make up a multiracial student body with backgrounds such as African Americans and Asians. With 311 students in the building, 49% of them are eligible for subsidized lunch. This percentage is greater than the state percentage of 46%. With that piece of evidence, it can be inferred that half of the student body most likely lives in a household where money is tight. 18% of the students who attend B.F Norton take advantage of special education services. Along with special education services, ESL services are also offered at B.F Norton. Catering toward 9% of students who attend are ESL students. This percentage beats the state percentage by 3%. Of the 311 students who attend this elementary school, 41.9% of their parents completed college. 24.2% of their parents completed some college. In the SurveyWorks survey, given to students at B.F Norton, 86.7 checked the box that they believed that they would finish high school. of the students checked that they believed that they would go on to continue their education through college.
Student Achievement: To gain a glimpse of the student's achievement or test scores, NECAP scores can be examined. More than half of third graders who attend B.F Norton, scored proficiently in math and in reading. In math, 57% of third graders scored proficiently. Compared to the state however, the percentage is a little lower. In reading, 69% of third graders scored proficiently, this percentage tied with the state's. Fourth graders scored proficiently in math reading and science. However, only 29% scored in science proficiently, while the state percentage sits at 45%. Fifth graders scored high in reading and math, and 42% scored proficiently in writing. In no area did B.F Norton score higher than the state percentage.
Teachers: At B.F Norton, the student to teacher ratio is actually lower than the state's student to teacher ratio. B.F Norton sits with a 1:9 student to teacher ratio, while the state sits with a 1:11 student to teacher ratio. Of the teachers who work at B.F Norton, 5% of teachers are emergency certified. This percentage is 4% higher than the state percentage.
Atmosphere of B.F Norton: Chronic absenteeism is not a huge problem at B.F Norton. Only 12% of students could be pined as being chronically absent. Most of the time, 96% of the student body attends school. The state target for attendance is 90%. B.F Norton surpasses this percentage by 5%. In terms of suspension, B.F Norton has no recorded suspensions. This is excellent.
Conclusion: All in all, B.F Norton is not a bad elementary school to attend. The teachers are highly credited and certified, a plethora of resources are available, and test scores are for the most part, decent. The downfall to B.F Norton would be the location. Located on the southern side of Cumberland, housing is more crowded, populations are higher, and money is not as abundent. These facts can be backed up by statistics mentioned earlier in this report, and can be compared directly to other schools within the community.
INTRODUCTION:
Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School consists of 80 students in kindergarten and first grade. It opened in 2011 with only kindergarten, but in 2012 first graders were added. In the state of Rhode Island, only 6% receive an ESL or bilingual education but in this school 29%. The majority of the population in this school is hispanic children, mixed with white students, African American, Asian, Native American, and Multiracial. This school has a 97% attendance rate and 0% chronic absenteeism, which beats the rate throughout the state which is 17%. This school is overall extremely stable.
At Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School, students have a very coordinated daily schedule. The goal of the school is to help children who are scholars, and will one day attend a university. Every program in the school is designed to incorporate a strong foundational diverse culture. The classes are supposed to be rigorous for students and include art and physical activity. 62.2% of parents agree that this school has an adequit art program and sports program for students.
Sample Daily Schedule
TEACHERS:
Teachers at Blackstone Valley Elementary 2 School most teachers have been teaching for four to ten years. This is less that the state average, but still a high amount.There are a total of 407 full time teachers, and 28 part-time teachers. The majority of teachers have either a masters or bachelors degree, and a few have a doctorate degree in education. At Blackstone Valley, there are no librarians or volunteer teacher aids, but there are paid teacher aides, along with many other teachers as shown in the graph below. Most teachers assign their students half an hour to an hour of homework which is more than the state average of no homework to half an hour of homework. The school requires teachers to have weekly, or monthly meetings with their department to touch base on how they're doing, and talk about what's working and what's not.
Primary Role:
SCORES AND RESULTS:
Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School is a highly recommended school. 98.4% of families with children that attend the school recommend it. The average grade for student performance is a B+. The grade for subgroup performance is a B, and the grade for the attempt to close this achievement gap is a C+. These grades are higher those of the Cumberland School District as a whole. Cumberland received a B for student performance, a C for subgroup performance, and a C- in closing the achievement gap for students.
FAMILY INVOLVEMENT:
The majority of parents say that they are very involved with their childrens education at Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary 2 School. 94.9% of parents said they know what their child is studying in class, and 98.3% said they feel very welcome in the school. Parents at this school attend many events that are held, as shown below. Parent to teacher communication is very common at this school, whether it's in person, over an e-mail, or a phone call. Most parents agree that it is very easy to get in contact with their children's teachers and principal.
Parent Participation:
Citations:
Blackstone Valley Prep. (n.d.). Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy. Retrieved from http://www.blackstonevalleyprep.org/about-us/our-approach
RIDE. (n.d.). InfoWorks. Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/blackstone-valley-prep-elementary-2-school
Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary School. (n.d.). RI-CAN. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.ri-can.org/report-cards/blackstone-valley-prep- elementary-school
Matthew Hoey
District: Providence, RI
Classical High School:Introduction:
Classical High School is a public magnet school located in Providence, Rhode Island in the Providence school district. It was founded in 1843, with the motto Certare, Petere, Reperire, Neque Cedere, translated from Latin as: “To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield.” Classical High School is known as high performing since it’s a city wide school determined on finding the best students in the city. This information is aimed at those who wish to learn about various aspects of Classical High School compared to other schools in the state of Rhode Island. This school was able to make Newsweek’s America’s Best High Schools of 2012.
Student Achievement:
Classical is known as a commended school when it comes to student achievement. Their proficiency, gap closure, distinction, and graduation rate are well above that of the Providence school district, and also above the state of RI as well. They have an outstanding graduation rate of 97.5%, while the state’s is 76.9% and the district is 68.8%. For NECAP Assessments in the years 2012-2013, Classical is more proficient than Rhode Island schools as a whole by at least 11% in each subject. For Math scores, Classical High School is 62% proficient while the state is 34%. In Science scores, Classical is 43% proficient while RI is only 32%. When it comes to Writing, Classical outshines the statewide proficiency by 27%, and Reading surpasses RI by 19%. Students at Classical High School also do substantially well on SAT Exams. Compared to the state, Classical students’ averages are higher in Mathematics, Reading, and Writing by at least 22 points each. Moreover, the academic accomplishments at Classical carry over to their AP Exams. Out of 615 exams taken, 61% (374) of them scored at “College-Level Mastery” while statewide College-Level Mastery is only at 57%.
Teaching:
The teaching at Classical High School is extremely qualified and faintly superior compared to the teaching statewide. When it comes to the state as a whole, RI schools have 1% of teachers with Emergency Certification and 3% who are not highly qualified. Classical has 0% in both of those criteria. The teacher-student ratio at Classical is 1:14, while statewide is 1:11; based on the student achievement and exceptionally qualified teachers, there are no problems with these numbers.
Families and Communities:
Classical High School has a very diverse background of students. One reason is due to the fact that half of the Providence district is made up of minorities. Out of all of the students attending Classical, only 46% of them are Caucasian, which is significantly lower compared to most schools in the state of RI. 26% of students are Hispanic, 16% are African American, and 9% are of Asian descent. However, many of the students still come from difficult socioeconomic statuses. This is shown in the 61% of students who are eligible for subsidized lunch while statewide eligibility is 46%.
Funding and Resources:
The funding and resources at Classical High School are sufficient for the most part. The District Expenditure per student is about $15,305 which is very close to the amount per student statewide. The resources are good for the students and feel adequate according to the SurveyWorks Student Survey in 2012-2013. 64.7% of students in Classical believe that the computers work well; 79.6% believe the school has enough computers for students to use. When it comes to their books 79.8% do not feel that their classes need to share books. However, even though the resources are sufficient, students believe the school needs work. 77.7% of students at Classical do not believe that the inside of the school looks nice, and another 74.5% feel the same way about the outside of the school.
Conclusion:
Classical High School is very different compared to many other schools in Rhode Island. Not only do they have a 54% of minorities attending Classical, but their average scores for tests such as NECAP and SAT surpass RI as a whole, and are much higher compared to the rest of the Providence district. The information stated shows how developed Classical is as a school and how successful their teaching and grades have developed. The exceptional learning at Classical makes it one of the most diverse high-performing schools in the state, and also in the country.
Sources:
One of the Top High Schools in the Country (n.d.). In Classical High School. Retrieved November 1, 2013, from http://classicalhighschool.org/about/
Classical High School (2012). In Infoworks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting. Retrieved November 1, 2013
Introduction and Mission
Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts is a small independent charter school located in Providence, Rhode Island. It is open to students that live in Providence who are in grades 7-12. Their mission is to, “develop well-rounded, educated, artistic and professional community leaders who practice service and teamwork in initiating and implementing goals, with a focus on the global society” (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.").
TAPA Overall
This charter school was founded to help establish a unique arts-integration perspective on learning. Here they encourage that, “students learn math, English, science and history through drama, film, music and dance.” Unlike most schools, art is considered a core subject and is used as a catalyst for the other subjects or at the very least as a tool for connecting thing together. The arts-integration pyramid that is displayed above explains the different levels that they attempt to achieve in the classroom. Only “10-20% of […] class time is spent in the "Independent" section of the pyramid.” (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.”).
Admissions
There are 69 students at the school at the moment in grades 7-9. (Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013). By 2016 there will be children in grades 7-12. It does not charge anything to attend and a school bus is provided for many students. Admissions is based on a lottery system. Applications are taken until February 23rd of each year and the lottery takes place on March 1st. (TAPA, “Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts.”).
Accountability and Testing
The school is doing quite well in terms of accountability and its testing. As of 2012-2013 the school is considered leading based on their proficiency, gap closure, progress and distinction. They have not yet graduated any students so their score is not reflective of that, although it looks promising that most students will graduate from TAPA. Their NECAP scores are another matter. Every percentage from TAPA is lower than the state average. Granted that there are only 69 students, it still poses a problem. Writing and math scores are among their top scores. 68% of 8th graders are proficient in reading and 50% of 8th graders are proficient in writing. This is still lower than the state’s average of 77% proficient in reading and 65% proficient in writing.
The 8th grade science NECAP was the worst problem. In 2011-2012, only 9% of 8th grade students were proficient. This was extremely behind the state average of 30%.(Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).
Students
Attendance is very good at TAPA. The general attendance percentage is 96%; two points higher than the state average. Over 86% of students have never skipped school and only 4% have shown chronic absenteeism. This is much lower than the 14% of Rhode Island kids who continuously skip class. The school population is slightly more female dominated with 58% of the students being female. About 71% of students are of Latino or Hispanic dissent. There is a good percentage, about 16%, of African American students that attend TAPA. The rest of the student population is either white, Native American, Asian, or multiracial.
(Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).
In general the students approve of teacher practices. More than 50% of students believe that their teachers give clear instructions and give students enough time to complete their work. Statewide students overall only agree with this 37.5% of the time. 60% of students agree that teachers do not let things get out of control in the classroom, which is also higher than the 57% state average. About half of the students at TAPA believe that their teacher has made the effort to re-explain material different ways until the student understands it. 50% of students also believe that their teachers help them catch up on work if they missed class. Both of these statistics are about 10% higher than the state average. Most students use technology, specifically computers, for most of the core subjects. These include math, art, social studies, science and English. About 80% of TAPA students use computers for all of these subjects, while statewide the highest percentage of computer usage in school for any subject is 56.3%. These statistics demonstrate that the staff and processes at TAPA are creating a good learning environment. They want students to succeed and are willing to put the effort in to see that happen. The introduction of technology into the classroom will also help students in this ever evolving world.
(Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).
TAPA is mostly a safe school. 20% of students have reported theft at the school, and this is only about 3% higher than the state average. Overall, almost all students feel safe at and around school. About 97% of students agree that they feel safe in the hallways, and about 80% of students feel safe when they walk outside of school. Statewide only about 85% of students feel safe in the hallways and 82% feel safe outside school. Although the last statistic is a little higher than TAPA’s it is not a significant difference. Like any school there is bullying in many forms. More than 50% of students have been made fun of or insulted, which is higher than the state average of 44%. Other serious forms of bullying are less common, such as being threatened with harm. There are only about 14% of students that have encountered that. In the state the average is higher at about 16%.(Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), 2013).
References:
RIDE. (2013, October 29). InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/trinity-academy-for-the-performing-arts
TAPA. (2013, October 29). Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts. Retrieved October 30, 2013, from http://www.trinityacademyfortheperformingarts.org/mission.html
North Cumberland Middle School is located at 400 Nate Whipple Highway in Cumberland Rhode Island. It is responsible for 649 students in grades six through eight. For every thirteen students in North Cumberland Middle School, there is one teacher. The majority of these students are white, with only ten percent of the student population identifying as African American, Asian, Hispanic, or multiracial. Relatively few students attending North Cumberland Middle School are qualified for subsidized lunches. Blackstone Valley Prep Middle School, which is in the same district as North Cumberland Middle School, has about 65% of its students receiving reduced lunches. The state average is 46% of students. North Cumberland Middle School had about 40 incidents of suspension in the school year of 2011-2012. This is only about 5% of the student body. In the state of Rhode Island, about 9% of students were involved in suspensions.
Providence Public Schools
In order to make information relate to the newly founded school, Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts (TAPA), I have compiled a list of data of the mostly the middle schools and high schools in Providence. The Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, as of the data collected from 2012 - 2013 academic year, only had students enrolled in grades 7 through 12. All of the information below has been retrieved from InfoWorks! so that current and relevant information to the school (on my partner's page) can be compared to the Providence district as a whole.
Accountability
On the composite index measures of the state of Rhode Island in the area of proficiency, the middle schools of Providence scored a 10 out 30 whereas the high schools, also of Providence, scored 11 out of 30. The achievement gap at the middle schools received a 16.5 out of thirty and the high schools had a score of 19.5 out of 30 on the composite index measure chart. However, their progress is very well, the middle schools achieved a 10 and the high schools 7 out of the highest composite score of a 10.
Testing
Only 7th through 12th grades were enrolled and the only assessment that was taken at TAPA was the NECAP test. Out of the seventh graders in the Providence district who took the assessment, 34% passed the math with proficient. In the reading section, 46% of those students that took the test passed with proficiency. At the 8th grade level, 34% passed the math and 57% passed the reading with a proficient score. Those at the 8th grade level also took a writing section and science section; those passed with proficiency were 46% and 9% respectively.
Students
In the Providence school district, 93% of middle school students attend regularly and at the high school level, 89% do. Overall, the district has a 92% attendance rate. The middle schools have 23% of their students that have had chronic absenteeism and the high schools, 36%. The city's students are majorly Hispanic, being 64% of the enrolled students. African-American students are another 18% and White another 9% of the student body. The remaining student population is 5% Asian, 3% multiracial and 1% Native American.
The number of incidents of Anger or violence in the school district of Providence at the middle school level has reported 1,153 incidents. However, 711 of them were caused because of fighting and threats/intimidation cases. At the high school level, only 497 incidents were reported and 299 of them involved fighting and threats/intimidation. It is unknown exactly how safe the district's students feel as a whole in and out of school and how they feel about the quality of their teachers.
Citation:
InfoWorks! <http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/district/providence>
“We believe…
· All students have the ability to learn and achieve.
· That a safe and secure school is the best environment for teaching and learning.
· It is necessary for students and staff to feel supported and be encouraged to take risks in their learning.
· School, parents and community are partners in providing opportunities for students to become responsible citizens.
· Decision making is a shared endeavor among partners.
· Emerging technologies and supporting resources should be available to the entire learning community.
(“John J. McLaughlin Cumberland Hill School | Cumberland School Department,” n.d.)
Above is the beliefs of John J McLaughlin elementary school. the beliefs show that the school is dedicated to making sure all students can achieve their goals by providing save environments for teaches and students so that they can all be productive members of the community. This school is a public elementary located in the Cumberland school district. I hope to inform the residents of Cumberland about the teachers, the test scores and the safety of the J.J.M. elementary school. with this information they can make an informed decisions on what they think this school would do for their family.
teachers:
The teachers at JJM are all highly qualified and none of them have emergency certificates. This is diffrent than the state averge wich 1% of teachers have emergency certificats and 3% of teachers are not highly qualified. (“InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov,” n.d.) According to no child left behind 2005 fact sheat. a higley qualified teacher has a bachelors degree has passes all state tests for certificates and is proficient in the subject areas they teach .(“New No Child Left Behind Flexibility,” 2005) The teacher student ratio is one teacher for every thirteen kids, which is slightly higher than the teacher ratio for the state which, is one teacher for every eleven kids. This allows for the teachers to spend more time with kids individually because there is more teachers per student. Overall the teachers at JJM are very qualified to teach.(“InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov,” n.d.)
test scores:
school safety:
95% of students feel save in school and 80% feel safe walking outside school this is from a survey that the student directly took so therefore this information is how the students feel. 7 % of student have been robbed at school as opposed to the 16% in the state of students that have been robbed at school. 10.9% of students reported getting into a fight this year and 13.7% is the state average for students fighting amongst them self’s. in the school year 2011-2012 there were no suspensions at JJM elementary school but there was 2916 suspensions state wide. This info leads me to believe that this is a safe school compares to the rest of the state there fore the students can focus on learning instead of focusing on there safety.(“InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov,” n.d.)
summary:
the information in this report touches on just some areas of J.J.M. Cumberland Hill elementary school's environment. the teachers at J.J.M are all highly qualified and there is also a lower student to teacher ratio at this school. the school id doing better than the state on the NECAP in all topics except for fifth grader writing. Almost all of the students feel safe in the school and there are also not many suspensions in this school. with this information I hope that you and your family's can uses it to make the correct choice for your young students and where the best school for them is.
Works cited:
InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. (n.d.). info works. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/john-j-mclaughlin-cumberland-hill-school/necap-assessments/3rd-grade-math/2012/1
John J. McLaughlin Cumberland Hill School | Cumberland School Department. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.cumberlandschools.org/content/john-j-mclaughlin-cumberland-hill-school
New No Child Left Behind Flexibility: Highly Qualified Teachers. (2005, December 19). Pamphlets. Retrieved November 8, 2013, from http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/methods/teachers/hqtflexibility.html
International Charter School
Introduction:
International Charter School is located at 334 Pleasant Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island that serves 310 students grades K-5. It is an elementary public school of choice that is dual lingual, so the students are taught in English half the time and either Portuguese or Spanish (depending upon with program they're in) the other half of the time (“Our Programs,” n.d.). The ICS believes that this method of teaching is better than teaching the second language alone in isolation (“About ICS,” n.d.).The charter for the International Charter School was granted to the International Institute of Rhode Island in 2001. Funding data is unavailable as International Charter School is self-funded, independent, and has it's own 501c3 status (which means they are an American tax-exempt non-profit educational organization). It also has its own Executive Director and Board of Trustees (“About ICS,” n.d.).
Mission Statement:
The mission of ICS is to integrate the diverse languages and cultures of the communities it serves by teaching all students in two languages-in Spanish and English or in Portuguese and English-and helping children develop an appreciation of other cultures. Children learn to work collaboratively from their multiple experiences and backgrounds, striving towards high standards of academic achievement. Everyone is part of a community of learners, engaging in inquiry about the world, themselves, and others" (“Mission,” n.d.).The Demographics of Students:
The student demographics of the ICS are quite unique. The majority of the students that attend ICS come from the surrounding communities of Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Providence, but ICS is a statewide school and currently enrolls students living in 12 Rhode Island communities (“Student Demographics,” n.d.). That's really unique, because usually schools only serve the communities around them. Most of the student population is Latino (50%). This isn't so surprising knowing that the surrounding communities (Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Providence) have a high percentage of Latinos, but in comparison to other charter schools it's interestingly unique. The rest of the school is 28% White, 20% African American, 1% Asian, and 1% Native American. Slightly more than half (51%) of the students are dominant in either Spanish or Portuguese, and the other 49% are dominant in English. An interesting fact about the student population is that ICS currently enrolls students who were born outside of the U.S. in a variety of countries in Central America, South America, and Africa. The language learners in ICS are divided almost equally, which is intentionally determined in the application process (“Student Demographics,” n.d.). 39% of students at ICS received ESL/Bilingual Education services in the 2012-2013 school year, compared to the states average of just 6% (“International Charter School,” n.d.), This is most likely because of the programs the school offers.The ICS has a slightly higher percentage of students (57%) that are eligible for subsidized lunch, compared to 46% at the state level (“International Charter School,” n.d.). This is most likely due to the ethnicities of the students and the communities they live in. Also, most charter schools are known to have a low percentage of Special Education students, but at ICS, according to their website, 15% of the student population have IEPs (Individual Learning Plans) and qualify for Special Education. What's also interesting is that these students with IEPs attend regular classes, with students who don't have IEPs, the entire school day (“Student Demographics,” n.d.). ICS had a 95% attendance rate for the 2011-2012 school year, which is slightly higher than the state's attendance rate for that school year (95%). It also had a chronic absenteeism rate of 6%, significantly lower than the state's chronic absenteeism rate of 17% (“International Charter School,” n.d.). This may be because the ICS strives to create a setting in which students can be interested, self-motivated learners.
The Quality of Teachers:
According to SurveyWorks, which has surveys for students, teachers, and parents, overall, students are happy with their teachers, the quality of their teaching, and their dedication to the students (“SurveyWorks Student Survey 2012-2013,” n.d.). A list on the school's website shows that there are Teachers, Teacher’s Assistants, Special Education Teachers, a Reading Support Teacher, a Music Teacher, a Physical Education Teacher, a Visual Arts Teacher, a Library and Technology Specialist, a Behavior Support Specialist, and a School Social Worker (“Staff List and Contact Information,” n.d.). This seems like a solid team for school of only 310 students. There is a discrepancy between what the school website and InfoWorks say the student-teacher ratio is (the school website says it's 18-1 and InfoWorks says it's 12-1). However, either way the ratio is higher than the state's ratio (11-1). In Rhode Island, 3% of the teachers are not highly qualified (they don't have a Bachelor's Degree as a teacher, or they don't have an Associate's Degree as a teacher's assistant). However, at ICS, 9% of the teachers or teacher's assistants are not highly qualified (“International Charter School,” n.d.). This may be because of the unique faculty necessary to run their dual-language programs. At ICS, 4% of teachers have emergency certification, which is higher than the state's 1% of teachers with emergency certification (“International Charter School,” n.d.). Overall, the quality of the teachers at ICS seem to be better than those at other Rhode Island Schools.The Quality of Education:
The percentages of proficiency in the NECAP assessments for ICS are all below the state averages of proficiency for grades 3-5 (“International Charter School,” n.d.), which may be due to the fact that many of the students are ELLs (English Language Learners). However, International Charter School met APY in the 2011-2012 school year, which means they met the proficiency standards of NCLB (No Child Left Behind). It's odd that they met APY despite their low NECAP scores. ICS has a high stability index (97%) when compared to the state's 87% for the 2011-2012 school year. It also has a very low mobility index (3%) when compared to the state's 14% for this same school year (“International Charter School,” n.d.). This shows that ICS is very successfully retaining their students as the years pass. International Charter School was featured in an article in the Providence Journal because of its success in eliminating the educational gap. It was also 1 of 4 schools featured in the national report Next Generation Charter Schools: Meeting the Needs of Latinos and English Language Learners (“Our Successes,” n.d.).Conclusion:
Though the students are a bit behind in NECAPs, they seem to be striving to reach the high standards of academic success. Overall, International Charter School achieves its mission. It's diverse, immersive, and integrates the cultures of the communities it serves. Keep it up, ICS!Works Cited:
About ICS. (n.d.). International Charter School. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/ABOUT_ICS.wssEntrance. (2009). Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/media/entrance.jpg
International Charter School. (n.d.). InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/international-charter-school
lucy_c. (n.d.). International Charter School. Retrieved from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/media/lucy_c.jpg
Mission. (n.d.). International Charter School. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/Mission.wss
music4. (2008). International Charter School. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/media/music4.jpg
Our Programs. (n.d.). International Charter School. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/OUR_PROGRAMS.wss
Our Successes. (n.d.). International Charter School. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/SUCCESSES.wss
Staff List and Contact Information. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/Staff_list_and_contact.wss
Student Demographics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org/Student_demographics.wss
NOT DONE!!!
Beacon Charter High School of the Arts
Introduction
Not only by the name is there a difference of one being a charter school and one being a public but also in the depth of what classes they are given and also to the specific of what kinds of students attend the the school. there are many schools that have their own unique way to show that they are available for students benefits in what they are interested in such as my school that was mostly concentrated into Biology. Beacon Charter School for the Arts is a charter school that focuses on having students be more concentrated in the arts such as painting, drawing, culinary, and the theater.
Beacon charter schools is a high schools for the arts that consists of having grades 9-12. their main mission in this charter school is different from your normal school, this school focuses on the arts and enhances artistic skills more compared to public schools. there mission stated in their website tells about how they want their students to be prepared with the academic skills necessary for post secondary success.
admission policy
Beacon is a public charter school in Rhode Island and to have a student enrolled to the school must find out an application that is on the website and after the admission process is made up of a lottery that picks out the 60 open seats freshmen year and the rest that did not get chosen would be put on a waiting list. Other than having 60 seats open in freshmen year all other years will have zero up to 10 seats open for enrollment.
The attendance rate at Beacon recently in 2012-2013 is 91% compared to the statewide percentage which is 92%. also having the percentage of students attending school there is also the percentage of how many students graduate in 4 years after entering. Statewide the percentage is 77.1% graduate in 2012 and comparing it to Beacon High school where 90.5% of the students graduate in 4 years.
Test Scores comparison
In Beacon test scores in NECAP compared to Woonsocket high school show a difference. In the 11th grade Beacon of 2012-2013 had a 28% proficient rate in math while Woonsocket high school had 21% rate, in Reading Beacon had 91% rate as for Woonsocket had a 70% rate, in Writing Beacon had a 83% rate while Woonsocket had 34% rate, and in science Beacon got 27% rate while Woonsocket had 15% rate.
__http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/woonsocket-high-school__
__http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/beacon-charter-high-school-for-the-arts__
__http://www.beaconart.org/about.php__
School Description
Welcome to the International Charter School!
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
The International Charter School is a unique school located at 334 Pleasant Street in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It serves 310 students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade with a 12:1 student-teacher ratio, with Teachers Assistants in all Kindergarten and 1st grade classes. ICS uses a dual language bilingual education model, in which all students learn 50% of the time in English and 50% of the time in either Spanish or Portuguese, depending on the program of choice. Therefore, the International Charter School serves a unique population and draws a unique team of faculty. The ICS believes that integrating the second language instruction with academic and other content matter is more effective than teaching the second language in isolation. We will be exploring student demographics, teaching quality, achievement success, and funding of ICS.
Mission Statement:
The mission of ICS is to integrate the diverse languages and cultures of the communities it serves by teaching all students in two languages-in Spanish and English or in Portuguese and English-and helping children develop an appreciation of other cultures. Children learn to work collaboratively from their multiple experiences and backgrounds, striving towards high standards of academic achievement. Everyone is part of a community of learners, engaging in inquiry about the world, themselves, and others.
Student Demographics:
The student demographics of the International Charter School are unique and rather unusual. The majority (half!) of the population is Latino, rather than White. The ethnicities of ICS include: 50% Latino, 28% White, 20% African American, 1% Asian, and 1% Native American. The language learners are split virtually equally, which is intentionally done in the application process. 51% of the students are dominant in Portuguese or Spanish and 49% are dominant in English. This is extremely unusual for a school. The majority of the students that attend ICS live in Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Providence. However, ICS is a statewide school. It currently enrolls students who live in 12 different Rhode Island Communities. Another unique aspect of the student demographics of the International Charter School is that 15% of its students are born outside of the United States. The ICS currently has students enrolled who were born in Bolivia, Brazil, Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, the Ivory Coast, the Philippines, Portugal, and Puerto Rico. Generally, charter schools are notorious for having an extremely low percentage of Special Education students, if any at all. At ICS, 15% of the students at have Individual Education Plans (IEPS), which means they qualify for Special Education. However, most of the students with IEPs attend all regular classes for the entire school day. Because of it’s unique population, 39% of students at ICS received ESL/Bilingual Education services in the 2012-2013 school year, which is extremely high compared to the state’s 6%. Additionally, the ICS also has a slightly higher population of students (57%) that are eligible for subsidized lunch, compared to the 46% of the state’s eligible students. This could be due to the locations and ethnicities of ICS’s students. In the 2011-2012 school year, ICS had a 96% attendance rate, which runs true to the 95% attendance rate of Rhode Island. It also only had a 6% chronic absenteeism rate, which is significantly lower than Rhode Island’s rate of 17%. Overall, the International Charter School serves a unique population in which Latinos and ELL students from RI cities are the majority population.
Quality of Teaching:
Based on the student survey, overall, students are happy with their teachers, their quality of teaching, and their dedication to the students. In fact, 100% of the students felt that their teachers like teaching, which is extremely important in motivating students. ICS appears to have a strong team of faculty. This team includes: Teachers, Teacher’s Assistants, Special Education Teachers, a Reading Support Teacher, a Music Teacher, a Physical Education Teacher, a Visual Arts Teacher, a Library and Technology Specialist, a Behavior Support Specialist, and a School Social Worker. 4% of ICS’s teachers have emergency certification, which is slightly higher than the 1% of emergency certified teachers in the state. The teacher-student ratio (1:12) is also very close to the state’s ratio (1:11). However, there is a significant difference in the number of not highly qualified teachers at ICS. In the state of Rhode Island, 3% of the teachers are not highly qualified, meaning they have not obtained a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree (Associate’s Degree if they are a teacher’s assistant). At the International Charter School, 9% of the teachers (possibly including the teacher’s assistants) are not highly qualified. This is three times the state level. However, this significant difference may be due to the unique type of faculty ICS needs because of its dual-language immersion program. In general, the quality of teaching at the International Charter School appears commendable.
Achievement Success:
The International Charter School continues to grow in popularity. There has been a 43% increase in the number of applicants. In the 2010-2011 school year, the International Charter School met the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP), meeting the proficiency standards of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). However, ICS percentages of proficiency in the NECAP assessments are all below (as much as 15%) the state averages of proficiency. We can infer that this difference may be due to the large amount of ELL students ICS houses, putting them at a slight disadvantage for NECAP testing. However, we should also remember that they did meet AYP. Also, in comparison to the state of Rhode Island, the International Charter School has a very high stability index (87% and 97%, respectively) and a very low mobility index (14% and 3%, respectively), which shows that ICS is successfully retaining their students. ICS only had 7 incidents of suspension in the 2011-2012 school year. As a testament to their successes, the International Charter School was 1 of 4 schools featured in the national report Next Generation Charter Schools: Meeting the Needs of Latinos and English Language Learners.
Funding:
The International Charter School is an independent, self-funded corporation, with its own 501c3 status and is responsible for its own budget. ICS has its own Executive Director and Board of Trustees. Funding data is unavailable.
The International Charter School provides a unique opportunity to the state to build on the strengths and needs of the community and to create global citizens who are capable of crossing linguistic and cultural frontiers with ease. Given their distinctive student population, the International Charter School and their dual language immersion program is seeing success.
References
InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. (n.d.). InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/international-charter-school
International Charter School. (n.d.). : Teaching in the languages of our community: English, español, Português. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.internationalcharterschool.org
Blackstone Valley Prep Middle School is situated in Lincoln Rhode Island, though it is part of the Cumberland school district. This document looks at the comparisons of Blackstone Valley Prep and a school in Lincoln. The reason for this being that while it is part of the Cumberland district, it is in Lincoln.
Accountability
When it comes to the accountability of the schools, Blackstone is given a leading grade and Lincoln is given a typical grade. This means that Blackstone is seen as a better school than Lincoln. One reason this could be is that Lincoln is a poor school. At the Lincoln Middle School, 92.6 of the students are economically disadvantaged, which seems strange as in the community report, Lincoln seemed like a relatively wealthy community. Lincoln spends $15,238 per student, the amount Blackstone spends is not available.
NECAP
Standardized tests are a large part of education and when it comes to the NECAP assessments, both schools scored relatively close to one another. In 6th grade reading, Lincoln has students performing with 87% proficiency, and only 68% in Blackstone. When it comes to 6th grade math Lincoln comes out on top again, though not by much. Lincoln has 75% proficiency while Blackstone has 73%. In 7th grade reading Blackstone has 86% proficiency and 7th only has 78%. In 7th grade math Blackstone is ahead with 93% proficiency while Lincoln only has 65% proficiency. Based on this data, it seems that Lincoln's 6th graders test better than Blackstone's 6th graders and Blackstone's 7th graders test better than Lincoln's.
There are 203 students at Blackstone Valley Prep and 852 at Lincoln Middle School. Blackstone's smaller number of students highly suggests that each student gets more individual attention than at Lincoln Middle School. For every single student at Blackstone there are 10 teachers, and for every single student at Lincoln there are 11 teachers. While there is an extra teacher per student at Lincoln, it does not seem to be enough to manage 852 kids. In regards to teachers, Lincoln surpasses Blackstone in this way: 2% of teachers at Lincoln are not highly qualified, whereas at Blackstone 88% are not highly qualified. A highly qualified teacher is in its most basic sense, a teacher without a bachelor's degree. Therefore, it stands to reason the teachers at Blackstone may not have even graduated college. 0% of the teachers at Lincoln are teachers with an emergency certification, where Blackstone has 45%. It's hard to tell which school has better teaching as both have their ups and downs. Based on the numbers, it seems it could be that teachers at Lincoln are more educated/experienced, but are faced with larger numbers of students where as at Blackstone, the less experienced teachers have small groups of children to work with.
Safety
Perhaps one of the most important things at a school is safety. based on the data, Lincoln had 261 incidents of suspension between 2011-12 and Blackstone only had 4. The students at Blackstone seem better behaved but that is probably because they come from better backgrounds than the kids at Lincoln. At Blackstone, 95.5% of students said they felt safe walking the hallways. In Lincoln 53.5% of students agreed, only 38.2% strongly agreed. 8% of students at Blackstone have seen another student with a weapon of some kind and 12.4% have seen a weapon at Lincoln. While these numbers are not shockingly high, they are too high overall. There shouldn't be any weapons at a middle school or any school. Another thing that is important to school is the student's attendance. In the years 2011-12 the students at both schools had a 97% attendance rate, which shows that a large majority of students do go to school.
Diversity
Lincoln is not the most diverse schools with less than 1% receiving bilingual services. At Blackstone however, 88% of students are receiving bilingual services. Blackstone also has a lower percent of students receiving special education services, them having 10% and Lincoln having 14%. 31% of the students at Lincoln are eligible for subsidized lunch and 65% is eligible for it at Blackstone.
Introduction
The high school-aged students in the town of West Greenwich have a few options for where they can attend high school. They can either go to Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School (grades 9-12), which is the public high school that is combined with the town of Exeter so that the student body is adequately large, or go to The Greene School, and independent charter school for grades 9-11. Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School has about 600 students (InfoWorks!), while the Greene School has only 127 stuents enrolled .
Teachers
When it comes to experience, it seems like the teachers at EWG have plenty of it. Fifty percent of the teachers at EWG have taught for more than 20 years, compared with the state average of teachers who’ve also taught for 20 years of 24.5%. Many teachers have also taught at the school for a long time. 32.7% of teachers at EWG have taught there for over twenty years, while only 8.1% of Rhode Island teachers have taught at the same school for over twenty years. Impressively, 52.6% of EWG teachers have received a masters degree, which is a little higher than the state average of 48.4%. Of all the teachers at EWG, 26.9% teach math, 15.4% teach language arts, 19.2% teach reading, and 13.5% teach sciences. These high percentages seem to reflect the trend in public schools focusing their energy on teaching math and language in order to prepare students for standardized testing. All other subjects, such as the arts, health, and physical education have less than 10% of staff teaching these subjects. Interestingly, 36.4% of teachers at EWG report that the practices they’re being asked to implement into their lesson plans aren’t effective. In addition, 75% of teachers believe that the teacher performance evaluation process is unfair. These statistics indicate that teachers at the school aren’t happy with the way that administrators are asking them to design their curriculum, and that they aren’t being evaluated fairly. This is probably a result of the emphasis that administrators are putting on standardized tests like the NECAP. (SurveyWorks)
Students
1. Student Body General Makeup
Compared with the rest of the state, Exeter West Greenwich Regional doesn’t have a diverse student body. It consists of about 95% white, 3.8% black, 1.7% Asian, 4.0% Native American, and 2.9% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (percentages>100% because students were able to identify themselves as more than one race) (SurveyWorks). The portion of the student body at EWG receiving free lunch is 8%, and the portion receiving reduced lunch is 4%, which are relatively low figures (US News). 11% of students at EWG are receiving special education, which is around the state average of 15% (InfoWorks!). The teacher to student ratio is pretty low at 1:9, while the rest of the state averages at about 1:11 (InfoWorks!). Of the students in the class of 2013, 79.8% planned to go to a four-year college after graduation, and 14.1% planned to attend community college, which leaves 6.1% of the class going on to work, or take time off the figure out a plan.
2. Student Health/Safety
The health of student’s at Exeter West Greenwich is comparative to the health and safety of students in the states of Rhode Island as a whole. Reported cases of asthma at EWG are at 24.8% of the student body, compared to 24.9% of students in Rhode Island. Cases of depression effect 14.5% of EWG’s students, which is low compared to the state average of 29.2% of Rhode Island students reporting depression. The majority of students “agree” that they feel safe in and out of school, and take safety drills seriously, which is also true for the majority of students in the state of Rhode Island. The percentage of students at EWG who have reported at least 1 type of bullying is 36.7%, while 49.7% of Rhode Island students have reported at least one type of bullying. In addition, only 4.4% of students have reported seeing a fight at EWG in the last year, while 9.4% of Rhode Island students have reported witnessing a fight. The drug use at EWG seems pretty high, with 56.8% of students reporting marijuana use in the last month. However, this is almost equivalent to the state average of 57% of Rhode Island students using marijuana in the last 30 days. (SurveyWorks)
3. Student Performance
In the last school year (2012-2013), students at EWG performed well above state averages on the state standardized test known as the NECAP (given to 11th grade students). In the field of math, 61% of students scored proficient, compared to 34% of students in Rhode Island. In reading, a whopping 93% of students scored proficient, while only 79% of Rhode Island 11th graders met the same standard. In writing, 62% of EWG students scored proficient, while 50% of Rhode Island students met the same standard. In the field of science, 54% of EWG students scored proficient, while only 32% of the state’s students met the same standard. Based off of these standardized test scores, students at EWG seem to be performing above average in the areas of math, science, reading, and writing. (InfoWorks)
Funding
The residents of West Greenwich seem better off compared with the average resident in the rest of the state, which in turn, benefits the school. For towns with financially secure residents, schools can obtain more funding from the town because the town can implement more/higher taxes on its residents. For example, the district property value per student in West Greenwich is $833,219.14 as of 2009. In addition, the district median family income in the town is $72,745, which is higher than the state average. The district per pupil expenditure for West Greenwich students is $16,778, which is much higher than most of the other districts in the state of Rhode Island. This figure is important, because it determines how much money Exeter-West Greenwich has to pay its charter school counter-part, The Greene School, every time one of their students transfers there. (InfoWorks)
Works Cited
InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/exeter-west-greenwich-regional-high-school
InfoWorks! Rhode Island Education Data Reporting - RIDE.ri.gov. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2013, from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/school/exeter-west-greenwich-regional-high-school
surveyworks-2012-2013-exeter-west-greenwich-regional-high-school-student-parent-teacher-hs.pdf. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://infoworks.ride.ri.gov/files/surveyworks/2012-2013/combined/surveyworks-2012-2013-exeter-west-greenwich-regional-high-school-student-parent-teacher-hs.pdf
Exeter-West Greenwich Regional High School in WEST GREENWICH, RI | Best High Schools | US News. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/rhode-island/districts/exeter-west-greenwich/exeter-west-greenwich-regional-high-school-17483